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Purchased   by  the  Hamill   Missionary   Fund. 


BV  3500  .N3  1905 
Naylor,  William  S.  1864- 
Daybreak  in  the  Dark 
continent 


MESSENGERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL  OF  LIGHT 


BISHOP    SAMUEL    A.   CROWTHER,   NIGER    TERRITORY 
KING    KHAMA,    BECHUANALAND  PAUL,    THE    APOSTLE    OF   THE    CONGO 


I     The  %y 


orward    Ivlissiun    Study 

EDITED  UNDER  THE  AUSPICES  O 
nr:    tOUNG   PEOPLE'S   MISSfONAPY    A\ 


Davbreak 


he 


Dark  Contin 


't 

'*  C%M  3UT  if  ive  wa/k  in  the^liyfu,  a.f  he  in 

-^-^  in  the  light,  we  have  feUmvship  one 

with  another,  and  the  bhod  of  Jesus  Christ 

his  Son  deatuteth  ns  from  nil  sin.** — I  John  i:7. 


e^ 


Young  People's  Missionary  Movement 
New  York 


^4  OF  IHl 
.'L  A.  cnowT 


— ^' 

The    Forward    Mission    Study    Courses 

EDITED  UNDER  THE  AUSPICES  OF 
THE  YOUNG   PEOPLE'S  MISSIONARY  MOVEMENT 


Daybreak 

in   the 

Dark  Continent 


WILSON  S.  NAYLOR 

Beach   Professor  of  Biblical  Literature 
Lawrence   University 


^ 


Young  People's  Missionary  Movement 
New  York 


Copyright,    1905,  by 
The  Young  People's  Missionary  Movement 


To 
THE  AFRICANS 

WHO  AFTER   NINETEEN   CHRISTIAN   CENTURIES 

ARE    STILL    WITHOUT   HOPE    AND 

WITHOUT   GOD 

In  THE  World, 

AND   TO   THE 

MEN  AND  WOMEN 

who,  obeying  the  great  commission, 

Will  in  This  Twentieth  Century 

bear  to  them 

The  Gospel  Message. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

One  of  the  great  features  of  the  mission- 
ary revival,  with  which  the  new  century 
opens,  is  the  determination  that  the  Church 
shall  study,  seriously  and  systematically, 
the  countries  and  peoples  where  and  among 
whom  missions  are  to  be  maintained,  and 
the  methods  best  adapted  to  evangelize 
them.  Forms  of  government,  racial  pecu- 
liarities, religious  beliefs,  degrees  of  intel- 
ligence, and  many  other  factors  are  to  be 
considered,  not  only  in  the  judging  of  a 
people,  but  also  in  the  plans  proposed  for 
their  improvement.  The  more  intelligent 
the  Church  becomes  concerning  all  mis- 
sion fields — their  environment,  difficulties, 
methods,  discouragements,  and  results  — 
the  more  surely  will  conscientious  and  sys- 
tematic giving  increase,  and  the  more  cer- 
tainly will  the  higher  life  of  service  among 
God's  people  be  advanced. 

The  title  of  this  book.  Daybreak  in  the 
Daek  Continent,  is  suggestive  of  the  pres- 
ent conditions  in  Africa.    Many  wonderful 


vi  Introductory  Note 

things  have  come  to  pass  in  these  first 
hours  of  God's  day  for  Africa.  Explora- 
tion has  done  its  principal  work  as  to  the 
main  features  of  the  continent,  and  now 
the  details  are  being  rapidly  completed. 
Medical  science  is  mastering  the  causes  and 
remedies  of  malarial  diseases.  Every 
phase  of  industrial  activity  is  advancing 
rapidly.  International  diplomacy  has 
practically  completed  the  blocking  out  of 
continental  colonial  empires.  The  native 
blacks  are  being  tested  as  linguists,  teach- 
ers, men  of  business,  laborers,  and  Chris- 
tians, and  are  proving  that  they  have  great 
capabilities  for  success  when  properly  un- 
derstood and  assisted.  Christian  missions 
are  everywhere  being  recognized  as  power- 
ful, permanent  and  necessary  factors  in  the 
uplift  of  the  people.  Marvelous  results  in 
so  brief  a  time !  Still,  in  the  presence  of 
what  remains  to  be  done,  they  are  only  the 
first  rays  in  the  eastern  sky,  heralding  the 
coming  day. 

The  author  is  exceptionally  well  qualified 
to  write  on  Africa.  In  addition  to  extended 
previous  and  subsequent  research,  he  spent 
a  year,  as  my  traveling  companion,  dili- 
gently studying  at  first  hand  (on  both 
coasts  and  in  widely  separated  sections) 


Introductory  Note  vii 

the  continent  and  its  people.  He  has  the 
heart  of  a  missionary,  he  is  without  racial 
prejudices,  and  were  it  not  for  clearly  prov- 
idential reasons,  he  would  now  be  with  me 
on  his  way  to  give  his  life  to  that  foreign 
field.  That  he  has  done  his  work  well  I  feel 
quite  sure  will  be  the  opinion  of  all  who 
read  and  study  these  pages.  The  marvel 
is  that  so  many  panoramic  and  yet  intelli- 
gent views  of  great  events,  unsolved  prob- 
lems, and  historic  movements,  so  much  in- 
formation on  so  many  questions  as  to  races, 
customs,  politics,  and  missionary  outlook, 
could  have  been  grouped  in  so  few  pages. 
One  of  the  chief  values  of  the  book  will  be 
its  suggestiveness.  No  one  can  read  it,  es- 
pecially if  there  be  a  thoughtful  and  pray- 
erful interest,  without  being  anxious  to 
know  more  about  the  great  continent  and 
its  people  just  emerging  into  new  light  and 
hope,  and  without  being  eager  to  have  some 
part  in  the  blessed  work  of  the  redemption 
of  Africa. 

(Bishop)  J.  C.  Haktzell. 

On  the  Sea,  January  20,  1905. 


A  PERSONAL  WORD 

It  is  quite  as  essential  that  a  reader 
should  understand  the  point  of  view  of  a 
book  before  readini^  it  as  that  one  should 
see  a  painting  from  the  point  where  light, 
angle,  and  distance  combine  for  the  best 
effects. 

An  important  feature  of  the  viewpoint  of 
the  present  volume  is  that  Africa  is  treated 
as  a  unit,  an  enormous  unit.  As  Frederic 
Perry  Noble  says,  ^^  Africa  is  not  a  coun- 
try. It  is  a  continent.  It  is  equivalent  to 
six  continents.  It  is  a  world  in  itself." 
Perhaps  the  desire  to  transmit  to  others 
my  own  impression  of  the  immensity  of 
Africa  may  be  indicated  by  citing  a  reason 
for  uniformly  using  the  third  person  in  the 
following  chapters,  even  when  making  use 
of  personal  experiences  or  of  incidents 
which  came  under  my  observation.  1 
feared  that  to  suspend  the  vision  of  Africa 
as  a  whole  in  order  to  magnify  even  mo- 
mentarily some  little  fraction  which  I  had 
personally  touched  might  detract  from  the 

ix 


X  A  Personal  Word 

vision  of  the  great  continental  total.  After 
all,  it  is  not  so  much  whether  one  reiterates 
his  personal  relation  to  what  he  tells  as 
whether  he  maintains  the  attitude  of  one 
who  sees  what  he  relates.  1  have  therefore 
hoped  that,  having  personalized  by  a  tour 
of  the  continent  my  library  acquaintance 
with  its  history,  natural  features,  political 
conditions,  peoples,  and  customs,  I  might 
be  able  in  some  measure  to  communicate  a 
personal  flavor  to  the  entire  book. 

The  chief  characteristic  of  the  viewpoint 
of  these  pages  is  man :  man  as  he  is  found 
in  Africa.  Everything  that  does  not  have 
a  definite  and  vital  relation  to  the  present- 
day  African  is  subordinated  or  eliminated. 
Further,  consideration  of  the  African  is 
centered  upon  his  religious  life ;  what  that 
life  is  before  Christianity  affects  it;  what 
it  is  and  may  become  under  the  influence 
of  Christianity.  It  is  religious  Africa  in 
the  broadest  sense  that  is  the  perspective 
of  this  little  volume. 

Since  the  influence  of  authorities  which 
strongly  affect  the  viewpoint  may  be  so 
subtle  as  not  to  permit  of  reference  in  the 
text  or  foot-notes,  it  is  most  fitting  that  I 
should  here  mention  my  indebtedness  to 
Arthur     Silva     White,     Development     of 


A  Personal  Word  xi 

Africa;  J.  Scott  Keltie,  Partition  of 
Africa;  Robert  H.  Nassau,  Fetichism  in 
West  Africa,  and  Frederic  Perry  Noble, 
Redemption  of  Africa,  These  four  are  the 
English  classics  on  physical,  political,  and 
religious  (Pagan  and  Missionary)  Africa. 
Mary  H.  Kingsley's  entertaining  works  on 
African  travel,  Robert  Brown's  elaborate 
story  of  African  exploration,  and  Stan- 
ford's compendium  of  African  geography 
also  have  been  prime  factors  in  filling  out 
the  background  of  this  study.  The  most 
important  of  the  many  other  books  from 
which  tribute  has  been  levied  are  referred 
to  in  the  foot-notes  or  are  included  in  the 
bibliography. 

It  is  with  peculiar  pleasure  and  gratitude 
that  I  make  the  following  acknowledg- 
ments: To  African  missionaries;  to  the 
secretaries  of  mission  boards,  and  particu- 
larly to  the  Editorial  Committee  of  the 
Young  People's  Missionary  Movement,  for 
suggestive  and  corrective  criticisms,  which 
have  shown  a  rare  degree  of  painstaking 
discrimination;  to  Bishop  Hartzell,  who  in- 
troduced me  to  the  great  world  of  Africa, 
and  whose  influence  with  government  offi- 
cials and  natives  in  various  parts  of  the 
continent    was    of    invaluable    service    in 


xii  A  Personal  Word 

speeding  and  deepening  my  personal  ac- 
quaintance with  conditions  and  problems; 
lastly  and  chiefly  to  one  whose  constant 
and  invaluable  helpfulness,  from  the  first 
day  until  now,  in  reading,  suggestion,  criti- 
cism, revision,  and  even  in  occasional  com- 
position, has  made  it  possible  for  me,  under 
the  pressure  of  other  duties,  to  prepare  this 
volume  at  all,  and  who,  because  bearing  my 
name,  with  characteristic  self-effacement, 
will  not  permit  hers  to  be  used  as  joint 
author. 

Wilson  S.  Naylor. 

Appleton,  Wisconsin,  June  1,  1905. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     The  Dark  Continent xv 

II.     Dark  Peoples  AND  Their  Customs 37 

III.     A  Religion  of  Darkness 75 

IV.     What  of  the  Night? 105 

V.     The  Morning  Cometh! 139 

VI.     The  Religion  of  Light 165 

VII.     Heralds  of  the  Dawn 205 

VIII.     Daybreak    249 

Appendix  A — Chronological  TxVble 287 

Appendix  B — Bibliography    295 

Appendix  C — Statistical  Tables 300 

Religious  Divisions  of  Africa 304 

Specimens  of  Bible  Translations  into  African 

Dialects   305 

Index   307 

xiii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTEATIONS 

Messengers  of,  the  Gospel Frontispiece. 

Relief  Map  of  Africa Following  page    12 

Various     Methods     of     Constructing     Native 

Huts Facing  page     62 

Charms  AND  Fetiches **        "       85 

Industrial  Missions "        "      131 

Medical  Missions "        •'      152 

Educational  Missions "        '•      171 

The  American   Mission    Training   College,    As- 

SIUT,   Egypt Facing  page  194 

Evangelistic  Missions **        "      241 

Transformation  of  Home  Life "        **      271 

Out   of   Darkness   into    Light— West   Africa. 

Facing  page  279 
Map    Showing    Distribution    of    Religions    in 

Africa Facing  page  110 

Map  of  Africa— 1805-1905 End  of  Book 

xiv 


THE    DAEK    CONTINENT 


I  view  the  end  of  the  geographical  feat  as  the  be- 
ginning of  the  missionary  enterprise. 

David  Livingstone. 


THE    DARK    CONTINENT 


The   Dark   Con- 
tinent 


The  term  ' '  Dark  Continent, ' '  applied  to 
Africa  by  Stanley,  has  a  threefold  applica- 
tion. Africa,  until  the  nineteenth  century, 
was  the  one  continent  whose  vast  interior, 
so  far  as  geographical  certainties  are  con- 
cerned, lay  in  unpenetrated  darkness.  It 
is  the  one  continent  whose  population  is 
composed  almost  entirely  of  dark  peoples. 
It  is  the  one  continent  whose  native  relig- 
ion is  without  sacred  writings  and  definite 
systems ;  a  religion  whose  followers  are  but 
wanderers  in  ^'the  blackness  of  darkness." 
The  present  chapter  has  to  do  with  the 
breaking  of  the  day  of  geographical  knowl- 
edge and  with  the  development  of  the  con- 
tinent. 

Accurate  knowledge  of  Africa  before  the   5f *?'*f,  *^^^ 

°  Christian    Era 

Christian  era  included  only  the  regions 
along  the  Mediterranean  and  Eed  Sea 
coasts,  Egypt^  the  Nile,  the  Great  Desert, 
and  the  Ethiopian  territory  centering  in 
Meroe  on  the  Upper  Nile.  It  is  clear,  how- 
ever, that  reliable  information  concerning 
1 


The    Gold    of 
Opliir     and    tlie 


2  Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

the  far  interior  did  sometimes  reach  the 
coast.  Maps  from  about  500  B.C.  show  re- 
markable accuracy,  considering  that  they 
were  guesswork,  in  locating  the"  Mountains 
of  the  Moon"  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Nile. 
A  Greek  writer  of  the  fourth  century  B.C., 
also  depending  upon  hearsay,  mentions 
great  lakes  as  the  source  of  that  river. 
The  gold-bearing  region  of  southeast  Af- 
phoeuicians  ^[q^  jg  j^q^  regarded  by  many  careful  schol- 
ars as  identical  with  the  Ophir  of  Solo- 
mon's time.^  There  are  ruins  in  the  same 
section  of  South  Africa  which  point  to  the 
ancient  occupation  of  that  part  of  the  conti- 
nent by  people  other  than  the  ancestors  of 
the  present  race,  the  evidence  being  all  but 
conclusive  that  these  people  were  Phoeni- 
cians.^ In  the  light  of  modern  knowledge  of 
the  earth's  surface  it  is  also  quite  certain 
that  the  continent  was  circumnavigated  by 
the  Phoenicians,  although  the  ancient  histo- 
rian who  records  the  story  doubts  its  truth." 
But  whatever  the  correctness  of  these 
present-day  conjectures,  the  fact  remains 
that  the  ancient  world  was  little  the  wiser 
for  the  voyages  of  gold  hunters,  colonists, 
and  explorers. 

^Hall  and  Neal,  Ancient  Ruins  of  Rhodesia. 
^A.  Wilmot,  Monomotapa. 
^Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  IV:   42. 


The  Dark  Continent  3 

For  the  most  part  popular  notions  were   ^^^^^^ 
exceedingly  indefinite,  and  Ethiopia  con-   indefinite 
tinned  to  be  an  all-inclusive  term  for  the 
unknown  or  little  known  regions  beyond  the 
more  familiar  North  African  points.  Hero- 
dotus, the  Greek  historian  of  the  fifth  cen- 
tury B.C.,  reflects  the  current  thought  not 
only  of  his  own  time    but  of  many  cen- 
turies thereafter.    AVitli  ample  elasticity  he 
sets  the  bounds  of  the  country:  ^^ Where 
the  meridian  declines  toward  the  setting 
sun  the  Ethiopian  territory  reaches,  being 
the  extreme  part  of  the  habitable  world." 
He  is  impressed  with  the  products  of  the 
land  and  with  the  stalwart  inhabitants,  for 
he  adds :  "  It  produces  much  gold,  huge  ele- 
phants, wild  beasts  of  all  kinds,  ebony,  and 
men  of  large  stature,  very  handsome  and 
long-lived.'     As  if  to  make  room  for  all 
its  people.  Homer  says :   ' '  The  populations 
of  Ethiopia,  the  most  remote  in  the  world, 
live  some  toward  the  rising  and  others  to- 
ward the  setting  sun."' 

Scarcely   anything  was    added   to   geo-   pf^^^^^/^^*  *** 
graphical  certainties  until  the  fifteenth  cen-    centuries 
tury  after  Christ.    It  is  true  that  the  Ara- 
bian invasion  of  the  seventh  century  scat- 

^Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  III:  114. 
2The  Odyssey,  1 :  22-25. 


4  Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

tered  a  host  of  foreigners  throughout 
North  Africa,  but  although  their  influence 
upon  all  succeeding  African  history  has 
been  of  vital  importance  because  of  its 
bearing  upon  the  question  of  Africa  for 
Christ  or  for  Mohammed/  their  contribu- 
tion to  the  world's  knowledge  of  their 
adopted  continent  was  slight.  The  fif- 
teenth century  brought  the  dawn  of  mod- 
ern enterprise.  An  era  of  discovery 
followed. 
Prince    Henry        Portugal,  iu  the  person  of  Prince  Henrv 

tbe      Naviprator  o       7  i 

anti  West  Coast  tlic  Navigator  (1394-1460),  took  the  lead 
in  the  West  Coast  exploration  of  Africa. 
In  the  face  of  obstacles  that  would  have 
discouraged  a  less  determined  character, 
Prince  Henry  pushed  his  mariners  as  far 
south  as  the  west  Guinea  Coast.  His  zeal 
for  discovery,  and  his  energetic,  scientific 
methods,  far  in  advance  of  his  age,  have 
given  him  a  place  among  the  world's  great- 
est explorers.  Added  to  this  is  a  fact  which 
should  make  his  name  doubly  honored  by 
Christians — the  fact  that  Prince  Henry 
was  the  pioneer  of  those  missionary  ex- 
plorers who,  400  years  later,  were  to  per- 

^The  author's  preference  would  be  for  the  spelling 
Muhammad,  Muslim,  Kopt,  Kongo,  but  the  forms 
"Which  are  still  popularly  prevalent  for  thase  words 
are  used  throughout  the  book. 


The  Dark  Continent  5 

form  some  of  the  supreme  feats  in  Afri- 
can discoveries. 

After  Prince  Henry's  death  Portugal  ^^'»^  ***  ^**«** 
continued  explorations  southward  until  the 
continent  was  rounded  (1487)  by  Bartholo- 
mew Diaz.  Diaz  called  the  southernmost 
point  the  Cape  of  Storms,  because  of  the 
extremely  rough  weather  encountered 
there.  But  his  patron,  King  John  II, 
would  have  none  of  it.  '^Nay,"  said  he, 
*^the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  shalt  thou  forever 
be  named,  for  by  this  cape  shall  we  sail  to 
India."  Ten  years  later  Vasco  da  Gama 
fulfilled  this  prophecy,  and  made  the  long- 
hoped-for  new  route  to  India  a  fact 
(1497-98). 

Da  Gama's  voyage  gave  him  the  oppor 
tunity  of  touching  at  points  on  the  east  coast 
coast.  He  reached  one  of  these  ports  on 
Christmas  Day  and  therefore  named  it, 
and  the  surrounding  country  as  well.  Natal, 
in  commemoration  of  the  nativity  of  our 
Lord. 

The  outline  of  the  continent  was  now  outnne  of  con- 

tinent    IvnovFii 

accurately  known.  There  was  also  the 
certainty  of  a  great  river  (the  Congo) 
other  than  the  Nile,  although  any  state- 
ment as  to  the  upper  reaches  and  sources 
of    either    was    pure    conjecture.       The 


Vasco   ila  Gama 
and      tlie      E^aHt 


Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


whole    interior     was     still     shrouded    in 
darkness. 
prester     joiin,       ^^^g  [j^  i]^q  fifteenth  centurv  a  fanciful 

Abyssinia,     and  ^      _  "^ 

tiie  Portuguese  gtorj  that  had  been  gaining  ground  for 
many  years — a  story  of  a  wonderful  Chris- 
tian state,  presided  over  by  a  great  Chris- 
tian prince — led  the  Portuguese  to  under- 
take a  pilgrimage  to  Abyssinia,  the  region 
over  which  ''Prester  John"  was  believed 
to  hold  his  sway.  The  Prester  John  tale 
was  proved  false,  but  the  Portuguese,  in 
quest  of  the  marvelous,  were  the  first 
to  enter  into  negotiations  (1520)  with 
that  interesting  country  whose  present 
king  is  Menelik,  ''King  of  Kings  of 
Ethiopia." 

The  English,  French,  and  Dutch,  quick 
to  see  the  advantage  of  the  commerce  which 
the  Portuguese  were  establishing  with  Af- 
rica, were  themselves  before  the  close  of 
the  sixteenth  century  carrying  on  a  brisk 
trade  with  the  West  Coast  tribes.  The  so- 
called  "grains  of  paradise,"^  ivory,  gold, 
and  slaves  were  accounted  the  most  profit- 
able cargoes.  Hence  the  names  Grain 
Coast,  Ivory  Coast,  Gold  Coast,  Slave 
Coast,  as  applied  to  the  different  sections 

^The  spicy  seeds,  "grains  of  paradise,"  were  much, 
in  demand  in  Europe. 


Rivals    to    Por- 
tuguese 


The  Dark  Continent 


European 
tlenients 


of  the  Guinea  Coast,  indicate  the  charac- 
ter of  the  trade  from  each  section. 

Settlements  by  the  Portuguese  on  the 
Guinea  Coast,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Congo, 
and  in  East  Africa  had  followed  in  the 
wake  of  their  discoveries.  Such  settlements 
were  naturally"  supplemented  by  those  of 
other  nationalities  as  the  trade  of  each  in- 
creased. During  the  seventeenth  century 
more  and  permanent  settlements  were  ef- 
fected, including  those  along  the  Gambia 
by  the  English,  along  the  Senegal  by 
the  French,  and  in  South  Africa  by  the 
Dutch. 

Yet,  notwithstanding  the  considerable  ^^*p  Making 
knowledge  of  coast  regions  gained  through 
European  traders  and  residents,  the  maps 
of  the  period  reflect  an  absolute  ignorance 
concerning  the  vast  bulk  of  the  interior. 
As  no  facts  were  available,  fancy  supplied 
details,  and  sketches  of  palaces  and  strange 
animals  did  dut}^  for  physical  features. 

Individual  efforts  toward  interior  ex- 
ploration had  been  made  from  time  to  time 
after  Prince  Henry's  day.  Practically  all 
of  these  had  started  in  from  the  West  Coast, 
and  all  had  met  with  varied,  though  slight, 
success.  But  in  1768  James  Bruce,  a 
Scotchman,  succeeded  in  reaching  Abys- 


Set- 


Individual      Ef- 
forts   toTvard 
Interior  Ex- 
ploration 


The   African 
Association 


8  Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

sinia,  where  he  remained  for  five  years/ 
He  it  was  who  gave  the  first  extended  infor- 
mation abont  that  country.  Among  other 
experiences  of  special  value  to  geographers 
was  a  visit  to  the  headwaters  of  one  of  the 
Abyssinian  tributaries  of  the  Nile.' 

Another  event  of  great  importance  to 
Africa  occurred  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
This  was  the  organization  (1788)  of  the 
* 'African  Association,"  whose  aim  was  the 
undertaking  and  directing  of  systematic, 
scientific  exploration.  The  time  for  better 
methods  had  arrived,  and  an  organization 
had  promise  of  larger  success  than  could 
be  reached  through  the  efforts  of  travelers, 
adventurers  and  traders,  valuable  and 
praiseworthy  though  these  had  been.  In- 
dividual exceptions  there  were  later,  how- 
ever, notable  among  them  being  Living- 
stone's and  Stanley's  first  expeditions. 
The  marvelous  results  of  the  explorations 
of  the  nineteenth  century  proved  the  wis- 
dom of  the  pioneer  organization,  whose 
mission  was  later  taken  up  by  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society  of  London. 

*  James  Bruce,  Travels  and  Discoveries  in  Abyssinia. 

^Bruce's  visit  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Blue  Nile 
scarcely  can  be  classed  among  discoveries.  Jesuit 
missionaries,  a  century  before,  were  the  real  dis- 
coverers. 


The  Dark  Continent  9 

The  methods  inaugurated  by  the  African   Scientific 

.       .  .  Exploration 

Association  were  pursued  by  its  successors 
until  the  entire  interior  was  mapped  out. 
Instead  of  scattering  efforts,  expedition 
after  expedition  was  centered  upon  each 
unknown  section  until  each  was  at  least 
roughly  explored. 

It  took  precisely  a  century  (1788-1888)  ExpI^ora«on  **' 
to  accomplish  these  explorations.  Thus 
from  1788  to  1830,  West  Africa,  north  of 
the  Guinea  Coast  and  east  to  Lake  Tchad, 
with  particular  reference  to  the  discovery 
of  the  sources  of  the  Niger  and  the  follow- 
ing of  its  puzzling  course,  was  the  field  of 
operations.  The  discovery  of  snow-capped 
peaks  in  East  Africa,  and  of  the  great  lakes 
and  their  relation  to  the  Nile;  Living- 
stone's extensive  explorations  in  South 
Africa,  his  journey  from  Linyanti  in  South 
Central  Africa  to  St.  Paul  de  Loanda  on 
the  West  Coast,  his  return  across  the  con- 
tinent to  the  East  Coast,  and  his  discov- 
ery of  th^  Zambezi  Eiver  and  its  magnifi- 
cent Victoria  Falls  resulted  from  the  en- 
deavors of  the  years  between  1830  and 
1862.  From  1862  to  1876  the  headwaters 
and  course  of  the  Congo  were  the  objects 
of  search.^   From  1876  to  1887  nothing  of 

^It  is  diflficult  for  the  younger  generation  to  realize 


lo       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


Reliable 

Geograpliieal 

Inforiuatioii 


Exploration 
mot   Minute 


importance  was  attempted.  In  the  latter 
year  Stanley  undertook  his  third  and  final 
expedition,  the  iCmin  Pasha  Relief.  He 
crossed  the  continent  from  west  to  east — 
his  second  transcontinental  exploit — and 
reached  the  Abyssinian  coast  in  1888. 

Reliable  information  regarding  the  hith- 
erto unknown,  or  dimly  known,  interior  was 
at  last  available.  Mountains,  lakes,  and 
rivers  all  became  real,  and  the  proper  posi- 
tion of  each  became  manifest.  The  maps  of 
Africa  were  no  longer  imaginary  cartoons, 
but  fairly  accurate  drawings. 

It  must  not  be  understood  that  explora- 
tion has  been  minute.  There  are  still  large 
districts  about  which  little  or  nothing  of 
detail  is  known,  but  taken  as  a  whole  the 
13icture  may  be  said  to  be  complete.  The 
sketching  is  all  finished,  the  background  all 
in.  Nothing  is  lacking  except  the  final  deli- 
cate touches. 


Size  of  Africa  Qf  jj]]^  fhc  coutiueuts  Africa  is  second  in 
size  to  Asia  alone.  With  the  islands,  Mada- 
gascar,  the  Madeiras,  the   Canaries,   and 

.the  recentness  of  the  opening  up  of  Africa.  Stanley's 
journey  down  the  Congo  was  not  finished  until  1877. 
The  End.  Brit,  (ninth  ed.)  in  an  article  evidently 
written  in  1874  says,  "The  equatorial  region  of  dense 
forests  in  Central  Africa  is  still  one  of  greatest  terrae 
'incognitas  of  the  globe." 


The  Dark  Continent 


II 


others,  Africa  has  about  11,500,000  square 
miles  of  territory  to  Asia's  16,000,000. 
Africa  is  about  three  times  the  size  of  Eu- 
rope,  and  about  half  again  larger  thaii 


either  South  or  North  America.  A  striking 
comparison  between  the  size  of  Africa  and 
that  of  other  continents  has  been  made  by 
Bishop  Hartzell :  ^ '  There  is  room  enough 
on  the  lower  end  of  the  continent  for  the 


12       Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


Surface 


Mountains 


whole  of  the  United  States  with  her  82,- 
000,000  of  people ;  Europe,  with  her  many 
states  and  hundreds  of  millions,  can  be 
placed  on  one  side  of  Central  Africa; 
China,  with  her  400,000,000  could  be  ac- 
commodated on  the  other  half  of  Central 
Africa,  and  there  is  room  for  all  India, 
and  Wales,  Scotland  and  Ireland  in  the 
lower  valley  of  the  Nile  and  along  the 
coasts  of  the  Mediterranean;  while  there 
is  plenty  of  room  for  Porto  Rico  and  the 
Philippines  on  the  island  of  Madagascar." 

Low-lying  coast  land  borders  the  conti- 
nent, extending  back  in  varying  distances  of 
a  mile  or  less  to  two  or  three  hundred  miles. 
Rising  from  these  coastal  lands,  gradu- 
ally increasing  and  often  steep  elevations 
form  a  series  of  narrow  plateaus  all  around 
the  continent,  until  the  great  continental 
plateau  is  reached.  It  is  as  if  enormous 
encircling  steps  led  up  to  an  immense  cen- 
tral platform  of  uneven  surface,  moun- 
tains, lakes,  and  rivers  making  decided 
breaks  in  the  level. 

The  outer  rim  of  this  continental  plateau, 
made  up  of  the  successive  plateaus  ascend- 
ing from  the  coastal  lands,  might  be  com- 
pared to  a  buttressed  castle  wall,  irregular 
in  outline  and  height,  with  mountains  serv- 


^  J^ 


41 


>>  5   9   tfi  >> 


5  =i   »  o)  _, 
"T   a   >   >  t- 


g   ^ 


^  s 


5  ^ 

c  r, 

C    =3 


°  ;:3 


Is 


5  5  5  r  ¥ 


2^ 


The  Dark  Continent  13 

ing  as  battlements.  The  seaward  face  of 
this  rim  is  often  so  abrupt  and  broken  that 
it  forms  low  mountain  ranges,  such  as  those 
of  Lower  Guinea.  Indeed,  practically  all 
African  mountains  are  but  elevations  along 
the  edge  of  the  upper  plateau.  The  Atlas 
range  in  northwest  Africa  is  not  fully  ex- 
plored, but  is  known  to  include  mountains 
of  commanding  height.  In  East  Africa, 
near  the  equator,  are  the  volcanic  peaks  of 
Kenia,  Kilima-Njaro,  and  Ruwenzori. 
These  are  the  highest  mountains  in  Africa^ 
Kilima-Njaro  exceeding  19,000  feet.  To 
the  north  is  the  mountainous  section  of 
Abyssinia,  and  to  the  south  and  southwest 
the  Drakenberg  and  other  ranges.  Kam- 
erun  Mountain  on  the  West  Coast,  like  the 
peaks  in  the  east,  is  volcanic. 

The  greatest  lakes  are  in  East  Central  ^^^^« 
Africa,  Victoria  Nyanza,'  Tanganyika,  and 
Nyasa  being  the  largest.  The  waters  of 
these  three  lakes  are  among  the  sources  of 
supply  for  three  of  the  four  great  rivers  of 
Africa — the  Nile,  the  Congo,^  and  the  Zam-  • 
bezi.    Victoria  Nvanza  takes  world  rank  as 


'Nyanza  means  lake. 

-Tanganyika  is  not  regularly  a  reservoir  of  the 
Congo.  In  recent  times,  only  at  the  overflow  during 
seasons  of  excessive  rains  do  its  waters  reach  the 
Congo. 


14       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


Rivers 


The  Nile 


a  fresh  water  lake,  since  only  Lake  Superior 
is  larger.  Lake  Tanganyika's  extreme 
width  is  not  more  than  forty  miles,  but  it  is 
the  longest  fresh  water  lake  in  the  world. 
Nyasa  also  is  narrow,  and  is  not  as  long  as 
Tanganyika  by  seventy  miles.  Aside  from 
the  lakes  of  East  Africa  there  are  those 
which  are  self-contained,  that  is,  those 
which  receive  streams  but  have  no  outlet 
to  the  sea.  Lake  Tchad  in  north  Central 
Africa  is  the  largest  of  these. 

The  three  great  rivers  mentioned  drain 
almost  the  entire  southern  and  eastern  por- 
tions of  the  continental  plateau,  while  the 
fourth,  the  Niger,  drains  the  southern  por- 
tion of  West  Africa  above  the  Guinea 
Coast.  Africa's  plateau  formation  is  the 
occasion  of  rapids  and  cataracts  in  all  of 
the  rivers.  These  occur  as  the  rivers 
flow  from  the  higher  levels  of  the  upper 
plateau  down  through  the  lower  levels 
to  the  sea. 

The  Nile  is  the  longest  of  the  four  rivers. 
The  annual  overflow,  its  peculiar  charac- 
teristic, results  in  making  a  fertile  valley 
of  what  otherwise  would  be  barren  land. 
The  artificial  reservoir  built  on  the  Upper 
Nile  is  of  immense  advantage  to  the  pro- 
ductivity of  Egypt  in  that  it  assures  a  more 


The  Dark  Continent 


15 


equal  annual  water  supply  to  the  lower 
river. 

The  Niger,  unlike  the  other  rivers,  has 
no  great  lake  as  a  feeder,  but  its  sources 
are  supplied  by  an  abundant  rainfall. 
Neither  is  its  lower  course  so  much  hin- 
dered by  steep  descents,  as  is  particularly 
true  of  the  Congo  and  the  Zambezi.  Rapids 
are  therefore  less  numerous — a  fact  of  sig- 
nificance to  commerce. 

Of  all  the  rivers  the  Congo  is  the  most 
important.  It  drains  an  area  rich  in  valu- 
able forests  and  of  amazing  fertility.  Stan- 
ley Falls  and  the  cataracts  of  the  lower 
river  are  serious  obstacles  to  navigation, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  1,000  miles 
of  superb  waterway  between  Stanley  Pool 
and  Stanley  Falls,  while  the  entire  Congo 
system  includes  at  least  10,000  miles  of 
navigable  streams.  The  possibilities  of  a 
country  penetrated  by  such  a  river  system 
are  well  nigh  incalculable,  as  are  the  op- 
portunities it  afPords  for  comparatively 
easy  access  to  the  native  populations  of 
Central  Africa. 

The  Zambezi  is  the  shortest  of  the  rivers, 
though  it  exceeds  the  Nile  in  volume.  By 
its  junction  with  the  Shire  Elver  it  com- 
pletes the  water  connection  between  Lake 


Tlie   Niger 


Tlie    Congro 


The   Zambesi 


1 6       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

Nyasa  and  the  Indian  Ocean.  When  the 
time  comes  for  a  line  of  railway  past  the 
rapids  of  the  Shire  Eiver/  the  Zambezi  will 
have  a  large  part  in  the  speedier  develop- 
ment of  the  lake  country,  and  will  also  af- 
ford a  readier  access  from  the  malarial 
coast  levels  to  the  higher,  more  healthful 
interior. 

Victoria  PaiiH  Victoria  Falls,  on  the  Zambezi,  rivals 
Niagara  in  grandeur  and  excels  it  in  mag- 
nitude. That  the  Bi'itish  Scientific  Asso- 
ciation should  propose  to  hold  a  meeting  in 
sight  of  these  falls,  a  wonder  of  nature 
which  fifty  years  ago  was  scarcely  known, 
is  noteworthy.  The  prospect  of  this  meet- 
ing hastened  the  execution  of  plans  for  con- 
verting the  section  immediately  adjacent  to 
the  falls  into  the  likeness  of  a  civilized  land. 
Hotels,  parks,  roads,  railroads,  and  bridges 
have  been  designed  by  experts  in  architec- 
ture, engineering,  and  landscape  garden- 
ing, and  have  been  made  to  comport  with 
their  surroundings,  and  not  to  intrude 
themselves  upon  the  grandeur  of  creation. 

Smaller  Rivers  rj.^^^  Gambia  and  Senegal  rivers  are  nav- 
igable streams  of  the  Atlantic  Coast.  Since 
their  discover}^  in  the  fifteenth  century  they 
have  been  of  service  in  commerce  and  in 

^Such  a  line  of  railway  is  now  proposed. 


The  Dark  Continent 


17 


the  develoiDment  of  the  West  African  coun- 
try adjacent  to  them.  The  Limpopo  and 
Orange  rivers  in  South  Africa  are  of  some 
length.  Almost  all  other  rivers  are  the 
short  coast  streams  which  take  their  rise 
near  the  edge  of  the  upper  plateau. 

The  Sahara  Desert  has  an  area  about 
equal  to  that  of  the  United  States,  includ- 
ing Alaska.  This  vast  territory  is  not, 
however,  one  wide  waste  of  sand.  Besides 
the  oases,  there  are  semi-desert  or  steppe 
lands,  highlands  and  rocky  plateaus,  a  few 
mountains,  and,  for  a  part  of  the  year, 
rivers  and  lakes.  Vegetation  is  not,  there- 
fore, confined  wholly  to  oases.  In  South 
Africa  is  the  Kalahari  Desert.  There  are 
also  desert  and  semi-desert  lands  in  So- 
maliland  and  along  the  Eed  Sea. 

The  '^  savannahs  "  of  the  Sudan  and 
southward  throughout  much  of  Central  Af- 
rica are  the  grass  lands  of  the  continent. 
These  savannahs  differ  from  our  prairies 
in  that  they  are  sparsely  wooded,  trees 
growing  over  them  singly  or  in  groves.  On 
the  lower  plateau  levels  of  East  Africa  and 
in  the  Zambezi  neighborhood  the  savan- 
nahs become  ^'veldts,"  and  ^' kopjes'^  (iso- 
lated mounds)  give  variety  to  the  land- 
scape. On  the  higher  plateaus  between  the 


Deserts 


Savannabs 


Forests 


1 8       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

southern  mountain  ranges,  where  the  rain- 
fall is  scantier,  are  the  "karroos,"  or  dry 
lands.  The  soil  permits  of  sufficient  grass 
growth  for  excellent  pasturage. 

In  the  Upper  Congo  basin,  almost  at  the 
center  of  the  savannah  lands,  and  covering 
an  area  many  thousands  of  square  miles  in 
extent,  are  dense  tropical  forests,  with  pro- 
fuse tangled  undergrowth.  Dense  forests 
are  also  typical  of  the  Upper  and  Lower 
Guinea  coasts,  and  some  mountainous  re- 
gions are  heavily  timbered. 
Varied  Climate  Africa,  Iviug  largely  in  the  torrid  zone, 
has  even  in  that  zone  a  decidedly  varied 
climate.  Elevation  is  partly  responsible 
for  this  variation.  The  southern  arm  of 
the  continent,  having  a  smaller  area  within 
the  torrid  belt,  and  also  a  higher  average 
elevation,  has  a  lower  average  temperature 
than  the  northern  portion.  The  mountain 
summits  of  East  Africa  are  covered  with 
perpetual  snow,  while  decreasing  elevation 
means  increasing  temperature.  Even  in 
the  Sahara  there  are  extremes.  The  nights 
are  cool  and  frosts  are  not  unknown.  Dis- 
tance from  the  sea  also  affects  climate  be- 
cause of  difference  in  amount  of  moisture. 
The  narrower  southern  portion  of  the  con- 
tinent, again,  has  relatively  a  more  abun- 


The  Dark  Continent 


19 


Temperature 


dant  rainfall  than  has  the  northern  sec- 
tion. The  dense  tropical  forest  regions  of 
both  are  profusely  watered.  Over  most  of 
the  continent  rainy  and  dry  seasons  pre- 
vail, the  length  of  each  depending  upon 
locality. 

South  of  ^ve  degrees  north  latitude,  ex- 
cept for  a  narrow  strip  along  the  East 
Coast,  the  temperature  for  the  year  aver- 
ages under  80  degrees,  while  north  of  that 
latitude  the  average  is  above  80  degrees, 
the  hottest  portions  being  in  the  western 
Sahara  and  Sudan,  and  in  the  Upper  Nile 
valley  and  the  adjacent  desert.  Outside  of 
the  torrid  zone,  in  both  North  and  South 
Africa,  are  regions  whose  temperature 
ranges  under  72  degrees,  while  in  some — 
Morocco,  Algeria,  and  Cape  Colony,  for  ex- 
ample— the  range  is  under  64  degrees. 

Since  the  character  of  the  products  of  a 
country  depend  upon  its  climate,  African  ^ontii  Africa 
products  range  from  the  scant  life  of  the 
desert  to  the  abundance  of  a  soil  prodigal 
in  fertility,  and  from  tropical  vegetation 
to  that  common  to  temperate  climes.  Only 
a  suggestion  of  these  various  products  may 
be  given.  The  Mediterranean  states  yield, 
like  Southern  Europe,  grapes,  olives,  figs, 
and  the  like.     Esparto  grass  for  paper- 


Prodncts    of 
North,    and 


Products    of 
Tropical  Africa 


20       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

making,  though  less  used  than  formerly, 
is  still  largely  exported,  while  the  cork- 
oak  forests  of  the  Atlas  mountains  help  to 
supply  the  cork  market.  The  Nile  valley 
grows  cotton,  sugar,  rice,  wheat,  and  other 
grains,  and  vegetables.  South  Africa,  too, 
raises  fine  grapes,  but  otherwise  crops 
such  as  wheat  and  corn  are  those  more 
adapted  to  the  generally  cooler  climate.  In 
both  North  and  South  Africa  grass  lands 
supply  pasturage  for  successful  sheep  and 
goat  raising.  In  South  Africa,  at  least, 
grazing  predominates  over  farming.  Os- 
trich culture  is  also  a  South  African 
industry. 

The  Sahara  oases  can  always  be  de- 
pended upon  for  dates,  while  both  the  Sa- 
hara and  Kalahari  deserts  furnish  a  scant 
living  for  wandering  desert  tribes  and  for 
their  cattle.  The  savannah  lands  are 
adapted  both  to  agriculture  and  to  grazing. 
In  the  Sudan  cattle  raising  is  the  chief 
occupation.  In  equatorial  Africa  anything 
suited  to  a  tropical  climate  can  be  raised 
with  a  minimum  of  labor.  Bananas,  cas- 
sava, coffee,  sugar,  and  other  products 
thrive  astonishingly.  Scratch  the  soil,  plant 
the  seed,  and  await  a  full  harvest.  Such 
agricultural  instruction  may  be  a  slight  ex- 


The  Dark  Continent 


21 


aggeration,  but  it  does  not  fall  far  below 
the  mark.  The  upper  Congo  region  and 
the  forests  of  the  Guinea  coasts  produce 
the  oil-palm,  rubber  creepers,  ebony,  and 
mahogany  in  great  abundance. 


The  minerals  of  Africa  include  gold  in   ^^^^^'^^» 
the  Upper  Guinea  Coast  region,  in  south- 
east Africa  in  the  Witwaters  Rand  of  the 
Transvaal,  in  Ehodesia,  and  in  German  and 
British  East  Africa;    diamonds  in  South 


Gold 


2  2       Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

Africa/  the  richest  fields  in  the  world  being 
in  the  Kimberley  district;  silver  in  Abys- 
sinia, Nubia,  and  the  Sudan;  coal  in  South 
Africa,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Victoria 
Falls,'  and  northward ;  iron  in  Central  Af- 
rica; copper  in  South  and  Central  Africa, 
and  both  of  the  last  named  metals  in  the 
Atlas  region.  Salt  is  produced  in  deserts  in 
the  salt  beds  of  the  ''sliotts,"'  those  of  the 
western  Sahara  yielding  the  largest  quan- 
tities. With  the  exception  of  the  gold  and 
diamond  fields,  scarcely  any  of  these  min- 
eral deposits  have  been  worked,  so  that  the 
possibilities  are  enormous. 

The  gold-bearing  areas  of  the  Guinea 
Coast,  despite  an  already  large  output,  are 
by  no  means  exhausted,  although  South 
Africa  has  so  far  eclipsed  the  Gold  Coast 
that  less  is  heard  of  the  latter.  The  south- 
east African  gold  region,  supposed  to  be 
identical  with  Solomon's  Ophir,  is  almost 
fabulously  rich  now.  One  vein  in  the  Jo- 
hannesburg vicinity  is   forty  miles   long, 

^The  largest  diamond  ever  discovered  was  found  in 
South  Africa  in  1905. 

^The  coal  vein  discovered  by  Livingstone  near  Vic- 
toria Falls  is  now  being  mined  by  an  English  com- 
panj'.  The  vein  varies  from  ten  to  thirty  feet  in 
thickness  and  is  believed  to  be  of  vast  extent. 

^"Shotts"  are  lakes  of  desert  and  semi-desert  re- 
gions. During  a  part  of  each  year  many  of  them  are 
only  salt-basins. 


The  Dark  Continent  23 

from  two  to  ^ve  feet  thick  and,  so  far  as  it 
has  been  followed,  extends  in  a  slanting 
plane  for  a  mile  beneath  the  surface. 

Owing  to  the  ivory  trade  elephants  are  ^^*^'^ 
decreasing  in  numbers.  Formerly  almost 
the  whole  great  area  southward  from  the 
Sahara  was  considered  the  ''ivory  dis- 
trict." Elephants  are  still  hunted,  and 
ivory  is  still  a  staple  of  African  commerce, 
but  the  amount  diminishes  yearly,  and  un- 
less sharp  measures  are  taken  to  prevent 
the  destruction  of  elephants,  ivory,  before 
many  years,  will  be  rare. 

The  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  cen-  Afr/caTnro^n- 
tury  saw  Europe  engaged  in  a  partition  of  p^^*^^^"** 
the  yet  unclaimed  territory  of  the  conti- 
nent, and  in  the  settling  of  boundary  dis- 
putes. Since  the  days  of  Egypt's  power 
no  really  great  state  has  been  maintained 
in  Africa.  It  was  therefore  a  compara- 
tively easy  matter,  and  a  natural  sequence 
of  many  scores  of  years  of  coast  occupa- 
tion by  European  nations,  for  these  same 
nations  gradually  to  assume  more  or  less 
of  control  over  the  sections  which  later 
came  to  be  reckoned  as  belonging  within 
their  several  ''spheres  of  influence."^ 

^"Spheres   of   influence,"    so-called,    are   those    sec- 
tions which,  because  of  physical  boundaries,  or  pri- 


Africa  in  1900 


European 
Enterprise 


24       Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

By  the  beginning  of  the  present  century 
agreements  had  been  reached  by  the  na- 
tions involved,  and  of  the  11,500,000  square 
miles  of  African  territory  scarcely  more 
than  2,000,000  remained  that  were  not 
claimed  by  European  powers.  Indeed, 
Abyssinia  and  Liberia  (with  a  combined 
area  of  195,000  square  miles),  at  the  ex- 
treme east  and  west  sides  of  the  continent, 
comprise  the  only  territory  not  directly  or 
indirectly  under  foreign  influence.  The 
Congo  Free  State,  whose  boundaries  in- 
clude almost  the  entire  basin  of  the  Congo 
River,  is  under  the  guardianship  of  the 
King  of  Belgium.  Morocco  is  under  an  in- 
dependent sultan,  but  French  domination 
in  Morocco  and  Tripoli  grows  more  and 
more  pronounced.  Egypt  is  only  nominally 
under  Turkish  control,  England  really 
holding  the  reins  of  government. 

European  enterprise  is  developing  the 
continent.     Improvements  in  a  new  coun- 

ority  of  entrance,  or  trade  reasons,  are,  by  mutual 
consent  of  the  European  Powers,  resigned  to  the  in- 
fluence of  one  particular  Power. 

In  distinction  from  sphere  of  influence  is  the  "hin- 
terland." The  hinterland  is  such  a  portion  of  the 
interior  as  lies  adjacent  to  the  coast  "possession"  of 
any  Power,  and  is  a  natural  adjunct  to  it.  The  prime 
object  of  the  hinterland  provision  is  that  ready  ac- 
cess to  the  interior  may  never  be  hindered  by  any 
other  Power. 


The  Dark  Continent 


25 


tryare  necessarily  introduced  by  slow  proc- 
esses, but  considering  the  difficulties  over- 
come progress  in  Africa  is  little  short  of 
marvelous.    This  is  especially  true  of  rail- 


RAILWAY 
MAP 


ProiecteH  *" 


SJOf- 


road  building.  The  Cape  to  Cairo  rail- 
way is  built  southward  to  Khartum  (1,300 
miles)  and  northward  to  Victoria  Falls 
(1,600  miles).  When  these  termini  are 
connected  the  road  will  be  one  of  the  most 


26       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

important  transcontinental  lines  in  the 
world.  Likewise  300  miles  of  railroad  up 
the  Congo,  connecting  the  lower  river  with 
the  navigation  of  the  middle  river,  are  now 
in  operation,  and  900  miles  more  are  pro- 
jected. There  are  several  lines  in  South 
Africa,  and  a  line  from  Mombasa  on  the 
East  Coast  to  Uganda  and  the  north  shore 
of  Victoria  i^yanza.^  Other  lines,  in  proc- 
ess of  construction  or  completed,  extend 
inland  from  the  East  and  West  coasts.  The 
most  recent  project  is  the  building  of  a  rail- 
road from  the  junction  of  the  Atbara  with 
the  Nile  to  the  Eed  Sea.  This  will  furnish 
an  important  outlet  for  the  Sudan  trade, 
and  will  be  a  much  less  expensive  means 
of  transportation  than  is  possible  by  the 
Nile  railway. 

The  completion  of  the  Mombasa-Uganda 
railway  was  a  triumph  for  American 
bridge  builders,  who,  in  spite  of  delayed 
materials  and  labor  troubles,  accomplished 
their  share  of  the  construction  in  half  the 
time  proposed  by  any  competing  com- 
pany. A  genuine  American  Fourth  of  July 
celebration  on  the  shores  of  Victoria  Ny- 
anza  was  thus  made  possible  in  1902,  the 

'It  is  planned  to  complete  an  important  transconti- 
nental line  east  and  west  by  connecting  the  Congo 
and  the  Mombasa-Uganda  railways. 


The  Dark  Continent  27 

initial  trip  over  tlie  new  road  having  been 
completed  upon  that  day/ 

The  vast  possibilities  of  future  African 
commerce  are  hinted  at  in  the  size  of 
figures  relating  to  present  trade  while  the 
continent  is  as  yet  in  an  undeveloped  state. 
About  $20,000,000  worth  of  diamonds  are 
taken  from  the  Kimberley  mines  each  year, 
$350,000,000  worth  being  the  output  of  un- 
cut stones  (doubled  in  valuation  when  cut) 
since  1868.  A  total  of  $200,000,000  worth 
of  gold  has  been  exjjorted  from  the  Gold 
Coast.  The  present  annual  gold  produc- 
tion of  South  Africa  is  $50,000,000.  In 
palm-oil  exportation  $2,500,000  was  the 
figure  reached  in  1900  from  British  Nigeria 
alone.  Besides  these  there  is  still  a  large 
trade  in  ivory,  and  an  increasing  trade  in 
rubber,  mahogany,  ebony,  wool,  and  other 
articles.  Africa's  foreign  commerce,  ex- 
ports and  imports,  amounted  in  1901  to  a 
grand  total  of  $700,000,000.^  Of  imports, 
intoxicating  liquors  take  a  balefully  sig- 
nificant rank.  The  native  demand  for  the 
things  of  civilization  grows  apace  with  the 

^A.  B.  Lueder,  WorWs  Work,  July,  1903. 

-This  figure  is  deficient  because  complete  statistics 
are  not  available.  The  figures  in  this  paragraph  are 
compiled  from  G.  F.  Williams,  Diamond  Mines  of 
South  Africa;  E.  D.  Morel,  Affai7's  of  West  Africa; 
the  Statesman's  Year  Book,  and  other  standard  works. 


Commercial 
Possibilities 


28      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


Tlie  Native  as  a 
Factor 


Tlie   Wliite 
Mail's      Respon- 
sibility 


Tbe     Cost 
Continent 


of    a 


native  contact  with  the  white  man,  so  that 
imports  to  tickle  native  fancy  are  more  and 
more  on  the  increase.  Aside  from  these 
there  are  the  large  importations  to  the 
white  population  and  the  developing  com- 
panies. 

Africa's  importance  to  the  world  is  de- 
pendent, however,  not  so  much  upon  what 
the  country  possesses  of  natural  resources, 
nor  upon  what  it  develops  of  domestic  or 
foreign  commerce,  as  upon  what  the  native 
himself  becomes. 

Africa,  with  its  nearly  150,000,000  of  na- 
tive population,  is  in  a  certain  large  sense 
under  European  control.  The  native  is  as 
yet  incapable  of  self-government.  There- 
fore, what  the  native  is  to  become  depends 
upon  the  white  man.  The  white  man  holds 
the  destiny  of  Africa  in  his  hands  for  bet- 
ter or  for  worse. 

At  a  cost  beyond  all  reckoning  the  con- 
tinent has  passed  from  prehistoric  dark- 
ness to  twentieth  century  daybreak.  It  is 
estimated  that  of  explorers  over  600  died 
as  a  direct  result  of  the  death-dealing  cli- 
mate and  the  consequent  hardships  of 
travel.  Of  missionaries  the  number  is  un- 
known, but  in  1902  seven  of  the  leading 
missionary  societies  in  the  United  States 


The  Dark  Continent  29 

furnished  lists  showing  that  the  average 
length  of  service  of  the  missionaries  under 
their  auspices  had  been  eight  years,  and 
that  since  1833  these  seven  societies  had 
given  195  lives  for  Africa.  When  it  is  re- 
membered that  these  are  but  seven  of  the 
ninety-five  societies  working  in  Africa, 
one  can  form  some  idea  of  the  cost 
in  the  lives  of  missionaries/  The  roll 
of  honor  of  those  who,  through  the  cen- 
turies, as  conquerors,  geographers,  explor- 
ers, colonizers,  missionaries,  soldiers, 
statesmen,  have  contributed,  bit  by  bit, 
here  a  little,  there  a  little,  to  the  sum  total 
of  knowledge  concerning  Africa,  or  to  its 
present  state  of  development,  represents 
almost  matchless  achievements. 

Among  the  most  illustrious  of  whatever 
calling,  connected  with  African  history, 
none  stands  out  so  majestic  in  his  loneli- 
ness, so  lofty  in  his  purpose,  so  superb  in 
his  devotion,  as  does  David  Livingstone, 
the  missionary  explorer.  Such  tribute 
in  no  sense  belittles  the  magnificent  char- 
acter and  work  of  others.  It  rather 
magnifies  them.  For  to  be  in  am^wise 
comparable  to  Livingstone  in  itself  is 
praise. 

'S.  Earl  Taylor,  Price  of  Africa. 


David 
liiviiisstone 


30      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

ciiristiaii    Mis-       rj^j^^  iiiissionaiT  element  in  the  develop- 
Deveiopmeut       ment  of  R  countrv  is  apt  to  be  overlooked 

of  Africa  .        *  ^     , 

or  only  slightingly  mentioned.  This  can- 
not be  done  with  any  degree  of  fairness  in 
connection  with  Africa.  It  is  well  here  to 
call  to  mind  the  important  part  which 
Christian  missions  have  had  in  Africa's 
history.  Only  thus  will  it  be  possible  to 
understand  why  it  is  peculiarly  a  mission- 
ary continent,  and  why  Christianity  is  the 
leading  force  in  the  molding  of  its  savage 
tribes  into  civilized  communities.  But  a 
few  instances  may  be  given.  Prince  Henry 
the  Navigator  was  more  than  an  eager  ex- 
plorer. A  part  of  his  avowed  purpose  in 
undertaking  his  voyages  was  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Negroes.  Jesuit  missionaries 
early  in  the  seventeenth  century  discov- 
ered the  sources  of  the  Abai.^  Discoveries 
in  East  Africa  made  by  Krapf  and  Eeb- 
mann  during  missionary  tours  led  to  the  ex- 
plorations which  resulted  in  the  discovery 
of  the  great  lakes,  and  of  the  Nile  flowing 
out  of  Victoria  Nyanza.  Explorations  in 
South  and  Central  Africa  are  a  monument 
to  Livingstone's  tireless  energy.  Grenfell 
of  the  Congo  mission  made  the  important 
discovery  of  the  Ubangi  Eiver.     Macken- 

^The  Blue  Nile. 


The  Dark  Continent  31 

zie  ^s  influence  was  invaluable  in  promoting 
the  extension  of  Great  Britain's  beneficent 
control  over  wide  sections  explored  by  Liv- 
ingstone. Indeed,  the  history  of  Christian 
missions  in  Africa  forms  part  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  opening  of  the  continent.  The 
testimony  of  W.  T.  Stead'  to  British  mis- 
sionary influence  is  applicable  to  all  mis- 
sionary endeavor  in  Africa.  "South  Af- 
rica/' he  says,  "is  the  product  of  three 
forces — conquest,  trade,  and  missions,  and 
of  the  three  the  first  counts  for  the 
least  and  the  last  for  the  greatest  factor 
in  the  expansion  of  civilization  in  Africa. 
Missionaries  have  been  everywhere  the  pio- 
neers of  empire.  The  frontier  has  ad- 
vanced on  the  stepping-stones  of  mission- 
ary graves." 

Missionaries  have  given  their  lives,  not  pirpose****^*' 
for  conquest,  or  glory,  or  personal  gain, 
but  that  by  advancing  Africa's  interests 
in  every  possible  way  they  might  by  all 
means  save  some  of  Africa's  people.  They 
have  been  missionaries  first  and  always. 
Statecraft  has  been  a  part  of  missionary 
labor.  Explorations  have  been  incident  to 
missionary  journeys  made  for  the  purpose 
of  spying  out  the  land,  of  ascertaining  cen- 

^Editor  of  the  English  Review  of  Reviews. 


32       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

ters  of  population,  and  of  deciding  upon 
suitable  locations  for  stations;  or,  as  was 
the  case  with  Livingstone's  explorations, 
of  opening  the  continent  to  trade,  civiliza- 
tion, and  Christianity,  that  the  slave  traffic 
might  be  done  away  with  and  the  people 
uplifted.  Livingstone  struck  the  keynote 
of  his  own  and  others'  heroic  work  when 
he  said,  *^  As  far  as  I  myself  am  concerned, 
the  opening  of  the  new  central  country  is 
a  matter  for  congratulation  only  in  so  far 
as  it  opens  up  a  prospect  for  the  elevation 
of  the  inhabitants.  I  view  the  end  of  the 
geographical  feat  as  the  beginning  of  the 
missionary  enterprise." 

Questions  for  Study. 

These  questions  have  a  twofold  purpose : 
First,  to  assist  the  average  student  partly 
in  reviewing  the  most  important  topics  of 
the  chapter  and  partly  in  thinking  out  fur- 
ther conclusions.  Those  marked  *  may 
serve  as  a  basis  for  more  extended  thought 
and  discussion.  It  is  not  to  be  expected 
that  these  should  be  answered  without  care- 
ful reflection.  Second,  to  assist  leaders  of 
mission  study  classes  in  bringing  out  the 
points  of  the  lesson.  Leaders  should  rarely 


The  Dark  Continent  33 

use  the  entire  list  in  a  single  meeting,  but 
should  freely  select,  modify  and  supple- 
ment. In  addition  to  the  use  of  these  ques- 
tions, they  should  not  fail  to  obtain  from 
their  denominational  boards  helps  contain- 
ing full  suggestions  for  the  conduct  of  each 
session  of  the  class. 


QUESTIONS   FOR  CHAPTER   I 

Aim:    To  Examine  the  Signs  of  the  Times  for  the 
Evangelization   of   Africa. 

I... How   recently   has   Africa   become   well   known? 

1  How  much  of  Africa  was  known  by  civilized  peo- 
ples before  the  time  of  Christ? 

2*  How  did  the  opportunity  of  the  early  Church  for 
evangelizing  Africa  compare  with  ours? 

3  What  nation  took  the   lead   in  exploring  Africa 

after  the  Crusades? 

4  What  do  you  know  of  Prince  Henry  the  Naviga- 

tor, and  his  successors? 

5  How  much  was  known  of  Africa  in  1788? 

6  Indicate  on  the  map  the  progress  of  discovery 

since  that  time. 

7  What  great  section  was  opened  up  less  than  thirty 

years  ago? 

8  From    the    standpoint    of    discovery,    how    does 

Africa  rank  in  age  among  the  continents? 

II... Why  did  it  take  so  long  to  open  up  Africa? 

9  In  what  part  of  Africa  is  low  land  found?  where, 

high  plateaus?  where,  mountains? 


34       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

10  Was    the    first    modern    approach    to    equatorial 

Africa  overland  or  from  the  sea?    Why? 

11  How  was  the  progress  of  exploration  affected  by 

the  lack  of  good  harbors? 

12  How,  by  the  low-lying  coast  land? 

13  How,  by  the  fact  that  the  ascent  to  the  central 

plateau  so  soon  confronted  explorers? 

14  What  effect  had  this  last  fact  on  the  waterways 

leading  into  the  interior? 

15  When  Europeans  had  gained  a  foothold  in  healthy 

North  and  South  Africa,  what  physical  features 
hindered  them  from  advancing  into  the  conti- 
nent? 
16*  Compare  the  difficulties  of  exploring  Africa  with 
those  of  exploring  North  America. 

17  What  has  the  Church  invested  in  the  evangeliza- 

tion of  Africa? 

18  What  do  we  owe  to  those  who  have  overcome 

such  difficulties? 

III. .  .How  has  the  prospect  improved  in  the  last  fifty 
years  f 

19  When  the  edge  of  the  inland   plateau  has  been 

reached,  are  the  difficulties  equally  great? 

20  How  does  the  healthfulness  of  the  plateau  com- 

pare with  that  of  the  coast? 

21  What  sort  of  waterways  are  the  rivers  of  Africa 

when  their  lower  rapids  are  past? 

22  Look  at  the  map  and  determine  how  the  three 

great  lakes  will  help  to  reach  Central  Africa. 

23  What  effect  will  short  railroads  from  the  coast  to 

the   plateau   have   upon   transportation?   what, 
upon  health? 

24  What  effect  will  the  European  spheres  of  influ- 

ence have  upon  stability  and  order? 

25  Will  the  death-rate  of  future  travelers  and  set- 

tlers be  as  great  as  that  of  the  earlier  ones? 
Why  not? 


The  Dark  Continent  35 

26  After  so  much  has  been  done,  how  will  the  prog- 
ress of  the  future  probably  compare  with  that 
of  the  past? 

lY... What   is    the   attitude   of    the   commercial   an^ 
political  world  towards  Africa  and  the  African^ 

27*  How  is  the  present  age,  as  compared  with  the 
past,  equipped  for  the  development  of  Africa? 

28  How  will  the  touch  of  modern  science  affect  the 

commercial  value  of  the  continent? 

29  What  part  has  the  African  to  play  in  the  develop- 

ment of  the  country? 

30  Has  civilized  trade  any  regard  for  his  best  wel- 

fare? 

31  Will  it  do  him  any  real  good  without  the  gospel? 

32  What  will  the  liquor  traffic  do  for  him? 

33  Should  the  Church  lag  behind  the  world  in  reach- 

ing him? 

34  To  the  true  Christian,  what  is  the  relation  be- 

tween opportunity  and  responsibility? 

35  What   is   our   responsibility   for  Africa  as   com- 

pared with  that  of  past  generations? 

36  Do  the  signs  of  the  times  indicate  that  the  Chris- 

tian  Church   can    afford   to   wait   for   another 
thirty  years? 


References  for  Papers  or  Talks. 

I. .  .Traveling  in  Africa. 
Blaikie — Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone,  Chs. 

vni,  IX. 

Bryce — Impressions    of    South    Africa,    Chs-.    XIII, 

XIV. 
Drummond — Tropical  Africa,  Chs.  I,  II. 


^6        Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

Hannington — History  of  His  Life  and  Work,  Chs. 

Xni,  XIV,  XV. 
Hotchkiss — Sketches    from     the     Dark    Continent, 

Ch.  I. 
James— The  Wild  Tribes  of  Sudan,  Chs.  I,  H,  X. 
Stanley — Through  the  Dark  Continent,  Vol.  I,  Ch. 

V;  Vol.  n,  Ch.  I. 

II. .  .Climate. 

Blaikie — Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone,  pp. 
100,  108,  115,  116. 

Bryce — Impressions  of  South  Africa,  pp.  6,  7,  11, 
12,  35,  241,  281. 

du  Plessis — A  Thousand  Miles  in  the  Heart  of  Af- 
rica, Chs.  Ill,  IV. 

Noble — Redemption  of  Africa,  p.  154. 

Stanley — Through  the  Dark  Continent,  Vol.  I,  pp. 
100,  101,  103,  106. 

Verner — Pioneering  in  Central  Africa,  pp.  473,  474, 
475. 

III. .  .Commerce. 
Bryce — Impressions  of  South  Africa,  Ch.  XXVI. 
Jack — Daybreak  in  Livingstonia,  Ch.  XIII. 
Tyler — Forty  Years  Among  the  Zulus,  Ch.  XXX. 
Verner — Pioneering  in  Central  Africa,  p.  469. 
Ward — Five  Years  with  the  Congo  Cannibals,  Pt.  I, 
Ch.  X. 


DARK  PEOPLES  AND  THEIR 
CUSTOMS 


The  most  interesting  thing  in  Africa  is  the  native 
himself;  the  more  I  see  him  and  study  him  the  more 
I  respect  him.  If  I  had  a  thousand  tongues  and  each 
of  them  were  inspired  by  the  gifts  of  the  prophets  of 
old,  all  should  be  dedicated  to  pleading  for  this  people. 

Bishop  J.  C.  Hartzell. 


n 


D\EK   PEOPLES   AXD    THEIR    CUSTOMS 


Afpjca  is  the  one  continent  whose  popn- 
lation  is  composed  ahnost  entirely  of  dark 
peoples.  For,  although  Africa  is  his  home, 
the  black  man,  the  pure  Xegro,  has  not 
been  left  to  live  there  alone  during  the  cen- 
turies. The  result  is  that  through  the 
mingling  of  Xegro  blood  with  that  of 
lighter  races  the  population  of  Africa  is 
more  brown  than  black. 

The  native  population  is  variously  esti- 
mated, about  150,000,000^  being  approxi- 
mately correct,  or  a  little  more  than  thir- 
teen to  the  square  mile,  which  is  also  North 
America's  ratio."  The  most  thickly  popu- 
lated sections  are  along  the  Nile,  the  Medi- 

^Slightly  less  than  this  is  the  resultant  from  the 
estimates  of  total  population  of  Dr.  A.  Supan,  1904; 
Social  Progress.  1905  (based  on  the  Statesman's  Year 
Book)  ;  Stewart's  Daun  in  the  Dark  Continent,  1903; 
and  the  Blue  Book  of  Missions.  1905. 

"The  white  population,  most  numerous  in  South 
Africa,  has  not  yet  reached  the  2,000,000  mark,  al- 
though in  recent  years  it  has  increased  rapidly,  ow- 
ing to  diamond  and  gold  mining  and  other  large 
promise  of  money  making. 

Importations   of   labor   to   South   and    East  Africa 
have  already  added  300.000  natives  of  India  and  over 
25,000  Chinese  to  Africa's  population. 
39 


A    Continent   •£ 
Dark  Peoples 


Tbe  Popnlmtl*& 

150,000,000 


4^       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

terranean  and  the  Guinea  coasts,  the  lower 
Niger  basin  and  eastward  through  the  Su- 
dan to  Lake  Tchad,  and  in  parts  of  Central 
Africa  south  of  the  Sudan. 

Nortii  Africans  Aluiost  thc  cutire  portion  of  the  conti- 
nent north  and  east  of  the  Sudan  has  a 
native  population  farther  removed  from 
the  Negro  racially  than  are  any  other  of  the 
large  number  of  African  tribes.  Some 
North  Africans  probably  have  no  Negro 
blood  in  their  veins,  some  have  not  enough 
to  class  them  among  Negroes,  while  some 
(though  comparatively  few)  do  give  strong 
evidence  of  Negro  ancestry.  The  popula- 
tion is  therefore  a  puzzling  mixture. 

Tbe  Arabian  Pcrliaps  thc  most  apparent  element  in 
many  North  African  races  is  the  Arabian. 
That  this  should  be  the  case  is  not  surpris- 
ing. When  in  the  seventh  century  A.D. 
Arabia  poured  forth  to  the  conquest  of  the 
world  for  Mohammed,  Africa,  close  at 
hand,  offered  an  inviting  field.  Thus  Arabs 
in  great  numbers  were  brought  among 
races  even  at  that  time  little  mixed  with 
the  Negro.  Spreading  over  North  Africa 
they  began  that  assimilation  with  the  na- 
tive populations  which,  for  more  than 
twelve  centuries,  has  continued  in  an  ever- 
strengthening  bond  of  kinship. 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs       41 

Even  in  sections  where  the  racial  imprint  AfriCr™^**'^'* 
is  not  present,  the  religious  imprint  is  nev- 
ertheless strong',  for  the  fiery  zeal  of  those 
early  Moslem  missionaries  did  not  abate 
until  the  religion  of  the  sword  had  cut  its 
way  far  into  the  desert.  To-day,  Africa, 
over  the  region  indicated  (north  and  east 
of  the  Sudan),  together  with  parts  of 
the  Sudan  and  parts  of  Pagan  Af- 
rica, as  will  be  shown,  is  a  Moham- 
medan country.' 

The  Sudan^  is  the  Negro  section  of  the  ^i*^roe«*" 
continent.  Here  are  perhaps  50,000,000 
of  people,  very  few  of  whom  are  more  than 
slightly  tinged  with  the  blood  of  other 
races.  At  the  western  extremity  of  the 
Sudan — the  Guinea  Coast  region — is  found 
the  purest  Negro  type,  he  of  the  receding 
forehead,  high  cheekbones,  broad,  flat  nose, 
thick  lips,  woolly  hair,  and  coal-black 
skin."    It  was  from  this  section  of  Africa 

'The  Coptic  and  Ethiopian  Christian  portion  of  the 
population  of  Egypt  and  Abyssinia  present  the  only 
exception  to  this  widespread  sway  of  Islam. 

^The  Sudan,  stretching  eastward  from  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  includes  the  Upper  Nile  region.  Its  northern 
and  southern  boundaries  are,  approximately,  the  Sa- 
hara Desert  and  the  latitude  of  the  Upper  Guinea 
Coast.  It  comprises  a  territory  about  700  miles  wide 
by  3,500  long. 

^There  are  a  few  other  tribes  of  pure  Negroes  in 
the  Sudan,  but  a  far  greater  number  than  all  other 
tribes  combined  live  in  the  Guinea  Coast  region. 


The  Haasas 


42       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

that  the  largest  numbers  of  slaves  for  the 
American  trade  were  taken. 

The  Hausas,  the  traders  of  the  Sudan, 
are  among  the  most  interesting  and  intelli- 
gent of  its  people.  They  possess  charac- 
teristics which,  if  brought  under  the  right 
sort  of  civilizing  influences  as  interior  Af- 
rica is  being  opened  to  the  world,  should 
make  them  of  inestimable  worth  in  the  fur- 
thering of  the  cause  of  Christianity  among 
their  countrymen. 
Mohamme-  With  SO  solid  a  Wall  of  Mohammedanism 

danism    in    tne 

Sudan  to  the  uorth  nothing  else  could  be  expected 

than  that  the  millions  of  Sudanese,  sus- 
ceptible to  the  influence  of  a  religion  higher 
than  their  own  Paganism,  should  prove 
fairly  easy  of  conquest  by  the  followers  of 
the  prophet.  And  it  is  true  that  a  large 
proportion  of  the  Sudan  is  already  domi- 
nated by  a  native  Mohammedan  element. 
The  thickly  populated  west  central  portion 
is  a  stronghold  of  Islam.  The  Hausa  coun- 
try, east  of  the  Niger  and  north  of  the 
Benue,  is  itself  under  Mohammedan  con- 
trol, and  many  of  the  Hausas  have  become 
Mohammedans,  either  nominally  or  in  fact. 

The  puiahs  The    Fulahs,    one    of    the    few    Sudan 

peoples  in  whom  there  is  but  little  Negro 
blood,   serve   as   an   example   of   Moslem 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs     43 


zeal  in  the  Sudan.  Like  the  Hausas  the 
Fulahs  take  high  rank  in  a  character  esti- 
mate of  Africans.  Added  to  their  natural 
aggressiveness,  which  has  made  them  the 
ruling  class  not  only  in  much  of  the  west- 
ern Sudan,  but  among  the  Hausas  as  well, 
they  are  devoutly  ardent  Mohammedans. 
Their  political  influence  is  continually  wid- 
ening, and  always  accompanying  it  is  their 
religious  fervor  and  their  proselyting  zeal. 

Still,  along  the  Upper  Guinea  Coast  and 
in  other  wide  sections  of  the  Sudan  there 
are  vast  numbers  of  Pagan  natives  who 
are  as  yet  unreached  by  Islam.  These, 
added  to  the  number  of  Sudanese  who 
are  simply  nominal  adherents  of  Mo- 
hammedanism, suggest  the  point  where 
Mohammedanism  and  Christianity  must 
meet  at  close  quarters  in  the  winning  of 
the  Pagan  African  to  one  or  the  other  faith, 
and  also  the  point  where  the  advance  of 
Islam  must  be  checked  if  the  great  Pagan 
remainder  of  the  continent  is  to  be  won  to 
Christianity. 

Over  against  the  North  African  peoples 
who,  racially,  are  so  slightly  related  to  the 
Negro,  are  the  Bantu  peoples  living  south 
of  the  Sudan,  in  almost  all  of  whom  the 
Negro  element  is  so  marked  that  they  are 


Paganism    in 
tlie   Sudan. 


The  Bantus 


44      Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


The 
aud 
men 


Pygmies 
the    Bash- 


The    Hottentots 


classed  as  Negro  tribes.  The  term  Bantu 
as  applied  to  these  Central  and  South 
Africans  does  not  signify  a  race  title,  but 
a  similarity  in  language.  The  people  of 
Uganda  and  of  .sections  of  the  Congo  basin, 
the  Zulus,  and  the  Bechuanas  are  Bantus, 
whose  tribal  names,  because  of  the 
prominence  given  them  in  recent  years 
through  missionary  or  commercial  inter- 
ests, are  the  most  familiar  to  Christian 
people. 

In  this  Bantu  portion  of  the  continent 
there  are  also  the  distinct  races  of  the 
Pygmy  and  the  Bushman.  These  are  people 
of  peculiar  interest  because  of  their  short 
stature,^  and  because  comparatively  little 
is  known  of  them.  As  a  rule  they  live  wan- 
dering lives,  the  shy  little  brown  Pygmies 
in  small  tribes  scattered  over  Central  Af- 
rica, where  they  depend  upon  hunting  or 
upon  what  they  can  pick  up  or  can  procure 
from  larger-statured  tribes;  the  wild  lit- 
tle yellow  Bushmen  in  the  Kalahari 
Desert  region,  where  they  somehow 
manage  to  keep  their  small  bodies 
alive. 

The  Hottentots,  also  living  in  southwest 


^  They  average  little  over  four  feet  in  height. 
of  the  Pygmies  are  scarcely  three  feet  tall. 


Some 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs      45 

Africa,  and  probably  nearly  related  to  the 
Bushmen,  are  not  so  fearful  of  contact  with 
other  races  as  are  the  Pygmies  and  Bush- 
men. Therefore  much  more  is  known  of 
them.  They  were  among  the  first  Africans 
of  modern  times  to  whom  the  gospel  was 
preached. 

Africa,  then,  south  of  the  Sudan,  to-  ^«^«"  ^^"<*« 
gether  with  parts  of  the  Sudan  itself,  is 
Pagan  Africa.  It  is  smaller  in  area  than 
Mohammedan  Africa,  but  because  the  lat- 
ter includes  the  thinly  populated  Sahara 
Desert,  Pagan  Africa  has  a  population  of 
about  90,000,000  to  Mohammedan  Africa's 
50,000,000. 

But  Pagan  Africa  is  by  no  means  free   Mohamme- 

"  ^  ^  danism  in 

from  Mohammedanism.  Along  the  East  Pagan  Africa 
Coast,  from  Mohammedan  Somaliland  past 
Zanzibar,  Arabian  influence  prevails.  Nor 
is  this  influence  confined  to  the  coast.  As 
far  inland  as  the  lake  district  (Uganda  and 
southward)  native  proselytes  increase 
Moslem  strength.  The  completion  of  the 
Mombasa-Uganda  railway  has  made  com- 
munication between  tribes  easier,  and  na- 
tive Mohampiedan  influence  grows  more 
noticeable.  The  most  recent  estimate 
places  the  nmnber  of  adherents  to  Islam  in 
East  Africa  at  2,600,000.    Kamerun,  on  the 


46       Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


Arab  Traders 


Christian 
Africa 


West  Coast,  supplements  these  figures  by 
500,000/ 

Aside  from  this  advance  from  east 
and  west  upon  Pagan  Africa  is  the  sig- 
nificant fact  that  climate  does  not  deter 
ihe  Arab  trader  from  penetrating  any- 
where into  the  interior.  Coupled  with 
his  trade  (regardless  of  its  character) 
is  his  religion,  with  its  easy-going  creed 
and  practice  ready  to  influence  whom 
it    may. 

The  native  Christian  population  of  Af- 
rica is  slight  in  comparison  with  the  great 
Mohammedan  and  Pagan  numbers.  Chris- 
tianity, except  in  South  Africa,  and  there 
largely  because  of  the  foreign  population, 
can  nowhere  present  a  solid  front.  Its  na- 
tive followers  are  scattered  here  and  there 
along  the  coasts  and  in  parts  of  the  inte- 
rior. Exact  figures  are  unavailable,  but 
some  idea  may  be  gained  from  a  glance 
at  more  general  statistics.  At  a  very  lib- 
eral estimate  the  total  number  of  the  nomi- 
nal Christian  population  in  Africa,  includ- 
ing all  white  residents  regardless  of  their 
'beliefs,  reaches  only  8,957,000.'  Of  these 
2,665,000  are  Protestants,  2,493,000  are 
Eoman  Catholics,  and  3,799,000  are  of  the 

^Blue  Book  of  Missions,  1905.  'Idem. 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs       47 
Coptic,  Abyssinian,  and  Eastern  Churches/ 

Modern  African  languages  and  dialects,  ^a^L'^^«a"e« 
like  African  tribes,  are  numerous.  Men-  Numerous 
tion  of  but  a  few  of  the  more  prominent 
ones  may  be  made.  Of  course,  in  North 
Africa,  Arabic,  although  not  a  native 
tongue,  is  widely  in  use.  The  Arab  trader 
has  carried  his  language  into  the  Sudan, 
but  the  native  Hausa  rivals  it  there,  since 
Hausa  is  also  a  language  of  trade.  Among 
the  Bantu  tongues  the  Swahili  in  East  Af- 
rica, the  Zulu  in  southeast  Africa,  and  the 
Congo  in  West  Africa  are  representative. 

In  any  description  of  the  African  him-  '^^^  f/*™"*^* 

♦^  ^  ^  and  tlie  "Civi- 

self  it  must  be  remembered  that  there  is  a  liaed"  African 
difference  between  the  primitive  native  of 
the  interior,  away  from  outside  influences, 
and  the  native  who,  through  long  contact 
with  Christian  or  Mohammedan  civiliza- 
tion, has  in  a  greater  or  lesser  degree  al- 
tered his  primitive  mode  of  life. 

Changes  in  dress,  m  customs  which  en- 
danger human  life,  and  in  industries  are 
the  most  apparent.    The  primitive  African 

'There  are  about  381,000  Jews  in  Africa,  living 
mainly  along  the  Mediterranean  Coast.  The  "Fel- 
lashas,"  a  considerable  colony  of  Jews,  have  since 
very  early  times  maintained  themselves  in  Abyssinia. 


A   Comparison 


48       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

is  unclothed ;  the  other,  especially  along  the 
coast,  is  sometimes  marvelously  clothed 
upon  in  his  attempt  to  follow  the  fashions  ■ 
of  the  white  man/  The  primitive  African 
has  his  own  way  about  eating  another  man, 
or  about  offering  him  as  a  sacrifice  to  his 
gods,  or  about  torturing  him  to  death  for 
bewitching  somebody ;  the  other  engages  in 
these  and  like  barbarities  only  at  the  risk 
of  severe  punishment  if  his  dark  doings  are 
found  out  by  the  foreign  Powers.^  The 
primitive  African  is  a  good  smith  and  pot- 
ter when  occasion  requires;  the  other  is 
both,  and  more.  His  industry  has  re- 
sponded to  a  desire  for  the  things  of  civili- 
zation. He  has  taken  to  manufacturing, 
and  has  become  a  weaver  of  cotton  cloth, 
a  dyer,  a  tanner,  a  maker  of  bricks,  of  bark- 
cloth,  of  baskets,  and  mats.  Such  occupa- 
tions furnish  him  with  goods  for  barter. 
Or  he  has  become  a  laborer  and  receives 
wages  in  native  currency — so  many  brass 
rods,  so  many  iron  hoes,  so  many  beads, 
or  cowries,  so  much  of  anything  else  that 
answers  for  money — or  on  the  coast  usually 

'The  native  convert  to  Islamism  adopts  the  Mo- 
hammedan costume. 

^Because  of  their  intimate  relation  to  African  re- 
ligion, the  customs  of  cannibalism,  human  sacrifice, 
and  witchcraft  will  be  treated  in  the  next  chapter. 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs       49 


in  actual  money.  The  primitive  African 
in  grazing  sections  cares  for  small  herds, 
that  he  himself  may  occasionally  fare 
sumptuously,  or  may  set  a  feast  for  an 
honored  guest;  the  other  has  the  same  use 
for  cattle  and  goats,  and  the  advantage  of 
trade.  Everywhere,  primitive  or  ^'civi- 
lized." the  African  is  a  farmer,  at  least  to 
the  extent  of  supplying  his  own  neces- 
sities. 

The  sketch,  which  follows  purposes  to 
deal  only  with  the  primitive  native,  the 
t^i3ical  Pagan  African,  as  he  is  before  civil- 
ization has  affected  him  or  his  way  of 
living. 

The  African  is  Xature's  spoiled  child. 
Throughout  much  of  his  continent  she  is 
lavishly  kind  to  him.  She  feeds  him  almost 
without  the  asking.  She  clothes  him  with 
tropical  sunshine.  If  his  necessity  or  his 
vanity  calls  for  more  covering,  she  fur- 
nishes it — again  with  no  excess  of  labor 
on  his  part — from  leaf  or  bark  or  skin. 
Everything  that  has  to  do  with  the  primi- 
tive demands  of  his  physical  well-being  is, 
as  it  were,  ready  at  his  hand.  Intellectu- 
ally, he  is  untrammeled  by  tradition  or 
practice.  He  has  kept  himself  free  from 
educational  ent  an  dements.    Xo  a  bo's,  no 


Purpose   of  Fol- 
lo^vingr  Sketch 


The  Pa^an 
African. 


50       Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

puzzling  multiplication  tables,  no  gram- 
matical rules,  no  toiling  over  copybooks, 
harass  his  brain.  There  is  his  bush-school, 
but  the  curriculum  itself,  as  well  as  the 
length  of  time  required  to  master  it,  is 
limited.  Besides,  it  is  not  an  eminently  up- 
lifting agency.  If  intellectual  development 
were  evidenced  by  the  quantity  rather  than 
the  quality  of  words  which  pass  one's  lips, 
the  African  might  be  thought  to  be  learned, 
for  he  is  an  inveterate  talker.  ''Palaver" 
has  a  chief  place  in  his  community  life. 
He  loves  it  and  revels  in  it.^  Spiritually, 
he  is  keenly  alert  to  a  multitudinously 
peopled  spirit-world,  which  he  has  evolved 
in  his  reach  after  the  universal  soul- 
heritage  of  mankind — the  somewhat  be- 
yond and  outside  of  himself  and  his  own 
world.  These  spirits  of  his  are  mostly  of 
a  devilish  kind,  and  the  marvel  is  that,  with 
the  belief  that  he  is  himself  continually  the 
object  of  their  malevolent  attentions,  he 
can  have  a  moment's  peace  of  mind.  It 
speaks  for  his  naturally  easy-going  tem- 
perament that  he  is  able,  despite  his  hob- 
goblin environment,  to  maintain  his  buoy- 

*Palaver  is  a  general  term  and  is  used  with  broad 
meaning.  It  may  signify  a  monologue,  an  ordinary 
conversation,  a  quarrel,  a  public  discussion;  in  fact, 
anything  which  permits  of  talk. 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs      5 1 

ancy  and  be  the  happy,  free-hearted  child 
of  nature  that  he  is. 

It  is  a  precarious  life  that  the  African 
leads.  Doubtless  he  never  moralizes  upon 
it.  His  horizon  is  bounded  by  tribal  limits. 
If  he  goes  beyond  them,  it  is  apt  to  be  upon 
an  errand  of  war,  in  which,  with  bow  and 
arrows,  club,  knife,  spear,  or  battleax,  he 
helps  to  add  to  the  list  of  deaths  by  violence 
with  which  the  continent  is  cursed.  For  it 
is  a  fact  that  human  life  is  held  so  cheap 
that  from  birth  to  death  the  native  runs 
the  gauntlet  of  sudden  violent  death, 
death  by  torture,  or  by  slow  poison.  Vari- 
ous superstitions,  and  the  specific  institu- 
tions of  witchcraft,  human  sacrifice,  canni- 
balism, and  slavery,  all  add  their  quota 
to  the  frightful  death  rate.  Aside  from 
these  are  the  vast  numbers  who  die  from 
contagion,  a  natural  sequence  of  life  in 
barbarism.  Lack  of  proper  care  causes  the 
deaths  of  multitudes  of  infants.  The  num- 
ber of  deaths  among  children  from  tetanus 
alone  is  believed  to  reach  an  enormous 
figure.  Complete  statistics  are,  of  course, 
not  available.  Figures  on  the  death  rates, 
from  whatever  cause,  can  be  approximate 
only. 

An  African  baby,  then,  takes  its  life  in 


Cheapness  of 
Life 


Infanticide 


52       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

its  hands,  so  to  speak,  when  it  makes  its 
advent  into  the  world.  If  it  has  some  phy- 
sical peculiarity,  or  if  its  coming  be  unwel- 
come (especially  apt  to  be  the  case  if  it  be 
a  girl),  it  will  as  likely  as  not  be  thrown 
into  the  bush,  or  be  put  to  death  in  some 
less  heartless  way.  Ill  luck  is  believed  to 
accompany  deformity,  yet  good  fortune 
does  not  always  attend  upon  an  infant  phy- 
sically sound,  for  such  a  one  is  sometimes 
buried  alive  with  its  dead  mother.  Con- 
flicting ideas  control  the  disposal  of  twins. 
Among  some  tribes  they  are  invariably  put 
to  death.  In  1902,  a  native  of  Rhodesia 
(within  the  bounds  of  civilization)  roasted 
alive  her  own  twin  babies.  Some  tribes  re- 
gard the  birth  of  twins  as  auspicious.  Dur- 
ing a  child's  early  months  certain  unwrit- 
ten rules  regulate  its  development.  If,  per- 
chance, it  cuts  its  upper  front  teeth  first, 
its  life  may  pay  the  forfeit  for  such  pre- 
cocity.^ 
Bai>yiiood  Little  oucs  who  have  succeeded  in  pass- 

ing the  entrance  requirements  to  life  prob- 
ably receive  as  much  attention  as  babies 

^Specific  illustrations  of  customs  given  in  this 
chapter  are  representative  only.  They  are  not  to  be 
thought  of  as  universal  throughout  the  continent. 
Some  of  them  are  universal;  most  of  them  are  so 
widespread  among  various  tribes  as  to  be  reckoned 
among  characteristic  customs. 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs.    53 

born  into  such  an  uncertain  sort  of  a  world 
need.  But  there  is  little  inclination  to 
outward  demonstrations  of  affection,  or, 
for  that  matter,  to  chastisement  either. 
Child  life  is  much  the  same  in  any  part  of 
Africa.  Until  the  child  is  able  to  walk,  he 
is  carried  upon  his  mother's  back  in  her 
frequent  journeys  to  and  from  the  little 
farm  beyond  the  village.  As  soon  as  he 
can  manage  his  own  short  legs,  he  walks 
with  her,  and  when  he  can  steady  a  load 
upon  his  small  head  he  may  help  in  the 
burden-bearing  of  her  life.  While  his 
mother  is  at  work.  Mother  Nature  is  his 
nurse  and  pla^onate,  and  all  of  the  big  out- 
of-doors  is  his  nursery.  He  acquires  keen- 
ness of  discernment  between  the  good  and 
the  evil  of  edibles  which  he  can  pick  up, 
pluck,  or  catch,  and  he  makes  the  practical 
acquaintance  of  certain  kinds  of  live  ani- 
mal food  at  which  the  well  brought  up  civ- 
ilized child  would  scream. 

A  boy  thus  unrestrained  grows  lustily  G?rmood"** 
in  strength  and  stature,  if  not  in  grace.  By 
and  by  he  learns  to  fashion  bows  and  ar- 
rows, to  hunt  for  small  game,  to  fish,  and 
otherwise  to  follow  his  manward  bent.  A 
girl  continues  to  spend  her  time  with  her 
mother  at  the  farm  and  about  the  hut, 


<<Biish   Schools" 


54      Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

learning  the  rather  varied  house- wifely  du- 
ties that  fall  to  the  lot  of  African  women. 
Marriage  is  looked  forward  to  as  an  inevit- 
able part  of  life.  Betrothals  of  very  little 
girls  are  not  uncommon. 

The  period  of  childhood  is  limited.  In 
many  tribes,  before  the  boys  and  girls 
reach  their  teens — sometimes  as  early  as 
eight  or  ten  years  of  age — they  are  sent  to 
the  ''bush-schools.''  These  bush-schools 
are  conducted  in  the  bush^  or  the  forest. 
They  are  not  co-educational,  and  their  in- 
struction, which  is  secret,  is  imparted  to 
each  sex,  respectively,  by  a  man  or  a 
woman  versed  in  their  lore.  An  outsider 
discovered  near  their  place  of  meeting  is 
summarily  dealt  with.  That  the  moral  tone 
of  these  institutions  is  of  the  lowest  there 
can  be  no  doubt.  But  it  is  known  that,  with 
all  the  evil,  the  pupils  acquire  a  little  help- 
ful knowledge — the  medicinal  uses  of 
herbs,  for  instance.  Whatever  the  train- 
ing, it  is  intended,  from  the  African's  view- 
point of  the  standards  of  life,  to  be  a  pre- 
paration for  manhood  and  womanhood,  and 

^"The  bush,"  as  the  term  is  sometimes  used,  in- 
cludes almost  any  part  of  the  out-of-door  world. 
Specifically,  as  in  the  case  of  the  "bush-schools,"  it  is 
applied  to  the  actual  bush — the  scrubby  growth  of 
the  savannahs,  or  the  undergrowth  of  the  forest,  or 
even  to  the  forest  itself. 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs      ^^ 

for  the  serious  duties  which  must  soon  de- 
volve upon  the  pupils.  After  a  period 
spent  in  these  schools  (the  time  varies  in 
different  tribes  from  a  month  to  two 
years),  the  children  return  to  their  villages 
to  enter  upon  ' '  grown-up ' '  life. 

Marriage  is  likely  to  be  contracted  in 
early  years.  It  is  considered  the  end  and 
aim  of  a  girl's  existence,  and  she  only  waits 
for  some  one  to  buy  her.  Often  her  husband 
is  much  older  than  herself,  for  a  boy  must 
postpone  marriage  until  he  has  acquired 
enough  in  the  way  of  earthly  possessions  to 
barter  for  a  wife.  The  bride  is  always  ac- 
quired by  barter.  She  is  worth  so  many 
goats  or  cows,  so  many  yards  of  cloth,  or 
so  much  of  some  other  commodity,  the 
number  or  quantity  being  agreed  upon  be- 
tween the  would-be  husband  and  the  father 
of  the  bride.  The  exchange  of  goods  for 
a  girl  is  sufficient  to  constitute  the  latter 
a  wife  without  further  ado,  but  there  is, 
ordinarily,  some  sort  of  a  ceremony  attend- 
ing her  transference  to  her  new  home.  One 
custom  involves  a  mimic  struggle  between 
the  friends  of  the  groom  and  those  of  the 
bride,  the  latter  feigning  to  defend  her 
from  abduction.  This  play  invariably  con- 
cludes with  triumph  for  the  groom's  party, 


Marriage 


^6      Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

who  bear  the  bride  away.  A  few  days  of 
noisy  celebration — eating,  drinking,  danc- 
ing— ensue,  and  then  the  new  wife  again 
resumes  the  round  of  drudgery  to  which 
her  childhood  training  and  the  traditions 
regarding  woman's  place  in  the  economy 
of  life  have  accustomed  her.  She  is  wholly 
subservient  to  her  husband^  and  in  a  meas- 
ure to  the  head  wife,  unless  she  herself 
happens  to  be  the  first. 
Wives  Polygamy  is  commonly  practiced.     The 

number  of  wives  which  a  man  possesses 
must  obviously  be  limited  by  his  ability  to 
purchase.  Yet  men  of  means  do  use  discre- 
tion in  this  department  of  their  household 
expenditures.  If  there  appears  to  be 
danger  that  the  bounds  of  social  propriety 
will  be  overstepped,  public  sentiment  may 
decide  as  to  when  a  mau  is  sufficiently  mar- 
ried. It  is  said  that  the  king  of  Ashanti, 
in  the  days  of  his  wealth  and  glory  before 
the  coming  of  the  British,  was  limited  to 
3,333  wives!  On  the  other  hand,  another 
West  African  king  was  required  to  have 
not  less  than  thirty  wives.  Usually,  how- 
ever, a  half  dozen  serve  very  well  to  demon- 
strate a  man's  dignity  and  his  standing  in 
the  community.  If  a  wife  displeases  her 
husband,  he  may  under  certain  conditions 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs      57 

return  her  to  her  parents  and  demand  res- 
titution of  the  ''head-money."^  There  are 
also  extreme  cases  where  the  wife  may 
leave  the  husband.  He  then  can  recover 
no  damages.  Separations  are  not  as  com- 
mon as  might  be  thought  probable  where 
marriage  is  purely  a  matter  of  bargain. 
So  long  as  his  wives  follow  his  behests  and 
give  him  enough  to  eat,  the  husband  is  con- 
tent. If  they  quarrel,  he  shouts  at  them. 
If  they  are  unruly,  he  has  recourse  to  more 
etfective  measures.  As  for  the  woman,  one 
hut  is  as  good  as  another,  the  drudgery  is 
the  same  anywhere,  and  unless  he  is  very 
cruel,  the  husband  she  has  is  not  worse 
than  another  might  be.  In  her  way  she  is 
devoted  to  him,  and  he  is  sometimes  fond 
of  her.  Still,  there  is  little  of  genuine  love 
as  civilized  people  know  it.  With  all  his 
wives  the  African  has  no  home.  Polygamy 
is  the  source  of  innumerable  jealousies  and 
quarrels.  It  sometimes  leads  to  mur- 
der of  the  husband  or  of  a  rival  wife's 
children.  It  leads  almost  universally 
to  unfaithfulness  in  the  marriage  relation. 

The  children  of  the  various  mothers  to-   <^'»"*"*«'* 
gether  form  a  considerable  family;  sepa- 
rated, each  group  ordinarily  is  not  large. 

'"Head-money"  is  the  price  paid  for  a  wife. 


58       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


SlaT^es 


Family    Ties 


African  babyhood  has  too  many  pitfalls  to 
allow  of  large  families.  If  a  wife  has  no 
children  she  is  held  in  dishonor.  The  chil- 
dren of  a  free  wife  belong  to  her  and  to  her 
relatives.  Those  of  a  slave  wife  belong  to 
the  husband. 

Aside  from  his  wives  and  children,  a 
man's  household  may  include  slaves.  His 
wives  not  only  may  be  his  slaves,  but 
ail  of  his  female  slaves  may  be  his  concu- 
bines. Domestic  slavery,  degrading  to 
morals,  unfair  to  the  rights  of  man,  and 
cruel  as  it  often  is  in  its  practice,  can- 
not be  said,  taken  all  in  all,  to  be  the  un- 
mitigated curse  to  the  continent  that  for- 
eign slavery  has  been.  Because  of  less  de- 
mand for  heavy  labor,  the  hardships  con- 
nected with  it  are  not  as  severe  as  among 
more  civilized  peoples.  The  freedom  of  a 
slave  is  not  greatly  restricted  and  it  is  pos- 
sible for  him  to  accumulate  property  of  his 
own.  But  the  utter  disregard  for  human 
life  in  Pagan  Africa  makes  the  slave  wholly 
dependent  upon  his  master's  caprice  for 
his  very  existence.  Punishment,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course,  may  be  meted  out  to  him  at 
the  slightest  provocation. 

It  is  plain  that,  with  so  many  separate 
elements  comprising  it,  there  can  be  no 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs      59 

close  personal  elements  binding  the  family. 
Except  for  the  central  figure,  the  husband, 
for  whom  everybody  over  whom  he  has  con- 
trol is  supposed  to  exist,  there  is  no  family 
life  in  common.  Each  wife  has  her  own 
hut,  where  she  and  her  children  live  apart, 
a  family  within  a  family.  The  father  is  apt 
to  pay  little  attention  to  his  children  after 
their  baby  days.  Tliis  lack  of  care  for  them 
possibly  may  be  traced  to  the  odd  custom 
which  causes  inheritance  to  pass  from  fa- 
ther to  sister's  son,  instead  of  from  father 
to  son.  Between  mother  and  children,  and 
especially  between  mother  and  son,  there 
is  some  exchange  of  love.  Hundreds  of  na- 
tives who  find  their  way — a  thousand  miles 
sometimes — from  their  homes  in  the  inte- 
rior to  the  mines  of  South  Africa  stay  only 
long  enough  to  accumulate  a  small  sum  in 
wages — wealth  to  them — and  then  trudge 
back  over  the  roadless  distance  to  their 
homes.  Extended  absence  from  friends, 
even  though  new  ones  are  made  among 
other  laborers,  renders  them  restless  and 
eager  once  more  to  be  among  the  wild  sur- 
roundings of  their  native  haunts.  Perhaps 
heart-hunger  for  the  old  free  life  impels 
the  return.  Perhaps  the  family  relations 
are  closer  than  the  observer  deems  them 


6o      Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

to  be.    Perhaps  mother-love,  not  unlike  the 
world  over,  draws  these  wanderers  back. 
fifousibifity  With  all  its  looseness  of  connection,  the 

family  has  cohesive  features.  All  of  the 
members  may  be  held  responsible  for  the 
reprehensible  conduct  of  one.  Here  the 
African's  sense  of  honor  is  displayed.  If 
,an  injured  person  demand  reparation,  his 
requirements  must  be  met  by  the  family  of 
the  offender.  One  consequence  of  such  a 
custom  is  the  development  of  a  measure  of 
clannishness.  Neighborliness  to  the  extent 
of  helpfulness  is  therefore  oftentimes  lim- 
ited. A  motherless  baby  may  wail  its  little 
life  away  within  the  hearing  of  other 
mothers.  They  have  children,  too  many  of 
them  it  may  be.  Besides,  have  they  not 
themselves  sometimes  disposed  of  their 
own  babies  if  unwelcome  f  This  orphaned 
one  may  die.  They  feel  neither  the  pathos 
nor  the  cruelty  of  it  all. 

The  abiding-places  of  the  collective  fam- 
ily— the  huts — are,  for  the  purpose  of  cen- 
tralization, U3ually  built  around  a  plot 
of  ground,  the  whole  area  forming  a 
sort  of  compound.  Over  this  little  domain 
man,  as  a  superior  being,  is  lord  and  mas- 
ter. His  subjects  are  his  wives,  his  slaves, 
his  children,  and  whatever  other  live  stock 


Man's  Domain 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs      6i 

he  may  possess.  In  family  affairs  his  is  the 
controlling  genius.  If  there  are  no  slaves, 
his  wives,  who  are  in  reality  little  above 
the  grade  of  slaves,  do  all  the  work  con- 
nected with  the  immediate  family  necessi- 
ties which  it  is  possible  for  him  to  avoid. 
They  must  come  and  go  at  his  beck  and 
call.  They  must  serve  his  meals  in  his  own 
hut,  but  not  eat  with  him.  They  must 
smooth  life's  path  for  him  while  keeping 
themselves  ever  in  the  background.  In  a 
word,  they  must  make  a  great  man  of  him 
generally,  no  matter  what  the  cost  to  them. 
This  condition  is  not  so  much  an  evidence 
of  man's  greater  disinclination  to  toil,  as 
it  is  of  the  almost  universal  estimate  placed 
upon  woman  outside  of  Christian  lands. 
She  is  of  the  inferior  sex.  She  is  the  tool 
of  man.  Her  energy,  such  as  it  is — for  her 
duties  require  little  haste — leaves  him  free 
for  a  less  restricted  life.  He  eats,  drinks, 
lounges,  goes  hunting,  fishing,  and  warring 
if  necessary,  and — palavers.  A  cool  even- 
ing, a  screen  of  reeds  set  up  to  protect  him 
from  a  possible  chilling  breeze,  a  palaver- 
fire,  around  which  he  may  sit  and  spin 
yarns  with  other  men  of  the  village — this 
is  bliss.  Yet,  when  conditions  demand,  the 
African  man  can  work,  and  work  hard.    In- 


Man's     Dlsjncli- 
nation     to     Toil 


Huts 


62      Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

dustries  multiply  with  wants,  division  of 
•  labor  increases  in  proportion,  and  the  mas- 

culine element  of  the  race  must  share  in 
the  division.  The  civilizing  agency  of  in- 
dustry has  a  more  far-reaching  effect  with 
the  male  population  than  with  the  fe- 
male. The  man  has  a  broader  chasm  of 
idleness  to  span.  The  woman  has  always 
toiled. 
Tbe  Simple  rpj^^  African's  solution  of  the  ''simple 

Life    in    Native  ^ 

life"  problem  unwittingly  lightens  wom- 
an's burdens.  So  far  as  housekeeping  pure 
and  simple  is  concerned  there  is  not  much 
of  a  house  to  keep.  The  characteristic  hut 
is  a  rude  affair.  Poles,  set  up  in  close 
order  for  a  framework,  are  plastered  with 
mud.  A  thatch  of  leaves  or  grass  serves 
for  shingles.  A  small  opening,  so  low  that 
one  must  stoop  to  enter,  does  duty  for  both 
door  and  window.  That  is  all.  No  chimney 
is  built.  The  smoke  from  fire  required  for 
cooking  or  for  occasional  warmth  eventu- 
ally finds  its  way  through  the  dried  grasses 
of  the  roof.  Neither  is  an  artificial  floor 
necessary.  The  natural  floor  of  earth  is 
quite  good  enough.  Furniture  of  any  de- 
scription is  almost  unheard  of.  A  woven 
grass  mat  provides  a  bed.  It  is  soft  enough 
for  mattress  and  warm  enough  for  cover- 


J-     3 

! ' 

o    t- 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs      63 

ing.     Other  furniture  would  hamper  the 
daily  routine. 

Meals  are  not  functions.  They  may  be  ^^"^^  ^***** 
taken  indoors  or  out,  reclining,  sitting  or 
walking,  whensoever  or  wheresoever  indi- 
vidual hunger  prompts.  If  there  be  a 
cooked,  dish,  the  cooking  vessel  is  portable. 
At  any  rate,  there  are  always  one's  hands. 
And  what  are  hands  for,  if  not  to  perform 
a  go-between  service  at  mealtime?  Fruits 
and  vegetables  are  so  abundant  that  the 
native  lives  largely  upon  them.  Bananas, 
paw[jaws,  dates,  mangoes,  sour-sops,  gua- 
vas,  plantains,  yams,  cassava,  millet  seed, 
rice,  and  maize  are  either  native  to  Af- 
rica or  are  easily  cultivated.  Cassava, 
yams,  rice,  and  plantains  are  staples  of 
diet.  They  are  nourishing  as  well  as  de- 
licious foods.  In  grazing  districts,  where 
small  herds  are  kept,  cattle  and  goats  fur- 
nish an  occasional  meat  diet.  Game  and 
fish  are  always  relished.  Ants,  gnats  and 
locusts  are  by  no  means  lacking  in  appe- 
tizing flavor.  They  are  so  numerous  as  to 
be  readily  collected,  and  are  prepared  as 
a  sort  of  croquette.  Palm-oil  serves  for 
fat  in  cooking.  The  more  of  it,  the  more 
palatable  the  dish.  Native  beer  and  palm- 
wine  are  favorite  beverages,  and,  in  some 


64      Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


Native   Dress 


Personal 
Adornment 


sections,  milk.  The  liquors  usually  are  in- 
toxicating and  work  havoc  among  tipplers. 

Dress  is  another  feature  of  the  simple 
life  as  demonstrated  by  the  African.  Again 
the  woman  is  the  gainer.  She  spends  no 
long  days  at  stitching,  no  weary  hours  at 
laundering,  no  protracted  moments  at  the 
mirror.  Dress  is  not  a  requirement  of  Af- 
rican society.  Some  tribes  do  habitually 
cover  the  body,  although  over  large  por- 
tions of  the  continent  garments,  as  a  pro- 
tection against  cold,  are  unnecessary.  In 
most  of  interior  Africa  little  or  nothing  is 
worn.  A  loin-cloth  of  bark,  or  leaves,  or 
grass  suffices.  A  long  cloth,  or  the  skin 
of  an  animal,  may  be  donned  on  ceremoni- 
ous occasions. 

Because  of  this  slightness  of  clothing, 
much  time  and  attention  are  devoted  to 
charms  more  strictly  personal.  A  full  fig- 
ure is  deemed  the  most  perfect ;  hence,  gain 
in  flesh  is  a  point  of  pride.  Among  some 
upper  Nile  tribes,  who  use  milk  freely,  the 
results  of  the  striving  toward  this  standard 
of  beauty  are  sometimes  astonishing.  Tat- 
tooing is  the  fashion  among  many  tribes. 
Forehead,  cheeks,  chin,  and  chest  present 
suitable  surfaces  upon  which  the  fancies  of 
the  designer  may  be  etched.    Eed  ochre  is 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs      6^ 


streaked  on  the  black  faces,  making  an  ef- 
fective color  combination.  Ears,  nose  and 
lips  are  pierced  or  otherwise  mutilated  to 
permit  the  wearing  of  huge  copper  rings. 
This  ornamentation  is  supplemented  by 
numerous  neck,  arm,  and  ankle  rings.  The 
anklets  are  often  so  weighty  as  seriously 
to  impede  movement.  Necklaces  are 
made  from  the  teeth  of  animals.  Among 
cannibal  tribes  teeth  of  men  may  be  used 
for  this  same  purpose. 

It  is  in  hairdressing,  however,  that  real  Hair-Dressing 
triumphs  are  achieved.  Here  the  vanity  of 
man  outrivals  that  of  woman.  Every  con- 
ceivable mode  that  grotesque  ideas  of 
beauty  can  conjure  up  is  in  vogue.  The 
head  is  shaved,  hair  cut  in  fantastic  pat- 
terns, arranged  in  ridges,  or  trained  out 
to  a  hoop  encircling  the  head  like  an  aure- 
ole. The  woolly  mass  is  usually  rendered 
manageable  by  a  free  use  of  oil,  and  any 
desired  arrangement  may  be  temporarily 
fixed  with  a  mud  plaster. 

Woman's  domain  includes  not  only  her 
hut,  but  much  of  out-of-doors  as  well,  a 
condition  somewhat  detrimental  to  the  fine 
art  of  homemaking.  Nothwithstanding  the 
ease  with  which  she  keeps  her  house  and 
clothes  herself  and  her  family,  she  is  kept 


"Woman's 
Domain 


Deaths   and 
F'ttnerals 


66      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

busy.  She  must  prepare  the  ground  for 
seed-sowing,  must  i^lant,  cultivate,  and  har- 
vest the  crops,  and  carry  home  and  to  the 
village  market  (where  there  is  one)  the 
heavy  baskets  of  vegetables.  She  must  be 
the  miller  if  grain  is  to  be  ground.  She 
must  be  the  potter  if  crockery  is  desired. 
She  must  bring  the  wood  and  the  water  for 
cooking,  and  prepare  the  meals  for  her 
family.  A  little  merrymaking — a  village 
dance,  a  wedding,  a  celebration  when  yams 
are  ripe — now  and  then  adds  zest,  but  at 
best  she  is  a  drudge. 

The  ceremonies  attendant  upon  deaths 
and  funerals  also  break  the  monotony  of 
life.  Scarcely  anything  is  done  to  alleviate 
the  sufferings  of  the  dying.  Instead,  the 
tom-tom^  keeps  up  an  incessant  beating, 
and  the  assembled  relatives  dance  about 
and  utter  wild  cries  in  the  attempt  to 
frighten  away  the  evil  spirit  which  is  be- 
lieved to  be  causing  the  illness.  Amidst 
such  riotous  confusion  death  must  come  as 
a  welcome  relief.  Feasting,  drinking,  and 
carousing  make  the  funeral  an  occasion  of 
general  debauch.  Noise,  too  often  the  Af- 
rican's conception  of  music,  has,  as  in  pub- 


'The  tom-tom    (a  drum)    is  a  favorite  musical  in- 
strument. 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs      67 

lie  celebrations  of  whatever  character,  a 
large  part  in  the  last  rites. 

The  hut  serves  one  other  purpose  than 
those  suggested.  It  is  often  a  burial  place 
for  a  member  of  the  family.  Regardless 
of  the  character  of  the  disease^ — contagious 
or  otherwise — which  has  caused  death,  in- 
terment is  often  made  under  its  earthen 
floor.  A  shallow  grave  is  dug  and  the  body 
is  laid  away  with  as  much  pomp  and  dis- 
play as  the  social  standing  of  the  family 
demands.^  Belongings  of  the  deceased,  to- 
gether with  food  and  drink,  are  buried  with 
him.  Hut-burial  is  not  universal,  yet  it 
is  rather  widely  in  favor.  Where  practiced 
it  may  be  simply  as  a  time-honored  custom, 
although  it  possibly  originated  in  the 
thought  of  protecting  the  body  from  dese- 
cration by  witches  or  by  cannibal  ghouls, 
or  of  keeping  the  spirit  in  close  association 
with  its  dwelling  while  in  the  body,  or 
as  a  matter  of  convenience  to  the  living 
in  their  sacrifice  to  the  spirit  of  the  de- 
parted. Any  one  of  these  reasons  for  the 
gruesome  practice  would  to  the  native  mind 
be  a  valid  one.     In  coast  lands,  however, 

'W.  Holman  Bentley,  Pioneering  07i  the  Congo,  ob- 
serves that  in  the  Congo  basin  hut  burial  is  but  a 
temporary  expedient,  re-interment  taking  place  when 
the  family  can  afford  an  elaborate  funeral. 


Hut   Burial 


Tribal  Life 


68       Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

foreign  control,  with  small  regard  for  an- 
cestral bones,  is  stamping  out  a  custom  so 
unsanitary. 

J'amily  life  is  typical  of  tribal  life,  tribal 
life  of  national  life — national,  that  is,  in 
the  sense  of  a  number  of  tribes  under  the 
authority  of  the  strongest.  Village,  tribal, 
national  life  center  in  petty  king  or  sub- 
cliief ,  head  king  or  paramount  chief,  some- 
"what  as  family  life  centers  in  the  husband. 
There  is  a  difference,  however.  Kings  and 
chiefs  rule  over  limited  monarchies,  the 
liead  men  being  the  counsellors.  Laws  are 
unwritten,  but  are  nevertheless  formulated 
and  crystallized  in  public  sentiment.  They 
are  savage,  but  not  always  unjust.  Witch- 
23alavers,  and  secret  societies  organized  for 
the  purpose,  enforce  them.  The  methods 
of  enforcement  are  so  entangled  with  su- 
perstitions that  insecurity  of  life  and  prop- 
erty results.  This  fact  undoubtedly  ac- 
counts, to  a  considerable  extent,  for  lack 
of  stability  in  the  possession  of  property. 
Property  is  all  personal.  Eeal  estate  is 
nominally  at  the  disposal  of  the  chief,  who, 
as  head  of  the  tribe,  may  allot  it  among  his 
people.  But  there  is  no  title  to  land  and 
no  pretense  at  ownership,  except  by  .squat- 
ter  sovereignty — actual   residence.     Huts 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs      69 

are  of  such  simple  construction,  and  per- 
sonal effects  are  so  few,  that  change  of 
residence  represents  scarcely  any  financial 
loss  and  but  a  slight  expenditure  of  energy. 
Better  land,  better  water  supply,  or  even 
a  quarrel  may  furnish  cause  for  removal. 
A  fresh  site  may  be  settled  upon  without 
opposition  from  any  quarter,  provided  it 
has  no  prior  resident.  The  fact  that  fam- 
ilies and  even  whole  villages  can  be,  and 
are,  transferred  to  new  locations  is  indica- 
tive of  the  lack  of  permanency  in  African 
civil  affairs. 

The  African,  as  he  appears  before  civ-  f jj*e  AVri^al^  *** 
ilization  brings  either  its  detrimental  or  its 
beneficial  influence  to  bear  on  him,  is  ex- 
ceedingly primitive.  He  has  scarcely  any 
aims  beyond  the  securing  of  food  and 
scanty  clothing.  Crafty  toward  a  foe,  he 
is  exceedingly  loyal  to  a  friend,  especially 
to  a  loved  superior.  The  devotion  of  Susi 
and  Clmma  to  Livingstone  (even  after  his 
death  when  they  imperiled  their  own  lives 
in  taking  his  body  to  the  coast)  is  repre- 
sentative of  the  African.  Self-important 
and  arrogant  in  the  consciousness  of  any 
advantage  over  another,  he  is  obsequious 
and  craven  when  the  tables  are  turned.  Un- 
der the  influence  of  Pagan  religion  he  is 


70      Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

cruel  to  the  point  of  being  callous  to  the 
sufferings  of  others.  In  the  person  of  the 
*' uncle''  and  "mammy"  of  the  civilized 
household  he  is  full  of  sympathetic  tender- 
heartedness. Unambitious  for  what  he  does 
not  have,  he  is  readily  susceptible  to  vanity 
over  slight  acquisitions.  Indolent  in  his 
native  home  of  prodigal  fertility,  his  latent 
industry  responds  to  proper  incentive  to  so 
remarkable  a  degree  that  he  becomes  the 
type  of  patient,  burden-bearing  humanity. 
The  African  is  precocious  when  young, 
imitative  and  teachable  always.  Eight  ex- 
ample and  incentive  influence  him  as  per- 
haps no  other  race  of  man. 
crviuration  '^^^  tcmptatlous  of  corrupt  civilization 

awaiting  the  African's  untaught,  savage 
self  are  legion.  Doors  open  both  ways  to 
the  pliable  and  teachable.  Opportunities 
for  the  development  of  sturdy  manhood  are 
more  elusive  and  less  in  the  line  of  Afri- 
can nature.  Just  here  is  the  sufficient  an- 
swer to  every  critic  of  missions,  who,  in- 
sisting that  the  native  is  happy  and  that  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  unnecessarily 
disturbs  him,  declares  that  he  should  be  left 
to  his  savage,  Pagan  life.  The  fact  is  that 
civilization,  while  blessing,  also  curses  Af- 
rica.   As  represented  by  the  liquor  traffic, 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs       71 

social  vice,  and  trade  in  firearms,  for  in- 
stance, it  is  even  more  detrimental  than 
Pagan  customs.  Yet  this  type  of  civiliza- 
tion is  in  Africa  to  stay  and  to  spread.  No 
well-informed  Christian  can  doubt  that  the 
African  is  in  sore  need  of  a  Saviour,  but, 
were  there  no  other  reason,  it  is  evident 
that  Christianity  is  necessary  in  order  to 
forearm  the  primitive  native  in  Africa 
against  the  evils  from  Christian  lands. 


QUESTIONS    FOR    CHAPTER    II. 

Aim:     To   Study  the  Need  of  African   Society  for 
Christianity. 

I... On  the  basis  of  the  number  unreached. 

1  From  a  religious  standpoint,  how  is  the  popula- 

tion of  Africa  divided? 

2  How  many  adherents  in  round  numbers  are  there 

of  each  religion? 

3  How  are  they  distributed  geographically? 

4  What  is  the  total  Christian  population  of  Africa? 

5  What  proportion  is  this  of  the  whole? 

6  What  part  of  this  will  be  no  help  in  evangelizing 

the  continent? 

7  What  can  you  say  that  is  good  of  the  Copts  and 

Abyssinians? 

8*  In  what  ways  does  the  Sudan  seem  to  be  a  stra- 
tegic position? 

9*  What  is  the  need  of  Africa  on  the  basis  of  those 
unreached  by  the  gospel  as  compared  with 
North  America? 


72       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

II... In  view  of  the  character  of  African  paganism. 

10  First  picture  clearly  the  African  in  his  lazy, 
brutal  life,  and  then  consider  what  Christi- 
anity will  do  for  him, 

11*  What  parables  of  Christ  will  furnish  him  with  an 
incentive  to  effort? 

12  How  will  the  belief  in  a  loving  Father  affect  his 

fear  of  spirits? 

13  What  teachings  of  Christ  will  show  him  the  need 

of  mercy  and  goodness  towards  others? 

14*  Try  to  imagine  yourself  an  African  pagan  and  to 
think  how  these  things  would  seem  to  you 
when  heard  for  the  first  time. 

15  What  will  Christ's  words  teach  him  as  to  the 
value  of  little  children? 

16*  Tell  some  of  the  ways  in  which  the  life  of  little 
black  children  will  be  different  after  Christi- 
anity controls  their  parents. 

17*  What  are  some  of  the  things  that  Christianity 
will  do  for  the  African  wife? 

18*  Read  the  Epistle  to  Philemon  and  decide  what 
Christianity  will  do  for  the  African  slave. 

19*  How  will  African  family  life  be  changed  by  the 
introduction  of  the  family  meal,  which  is  pecu- 
liar to  Christianity? 

20  How  would  Christianity  teach  the  African  to  feel 
towards  men  of  another  tribe? 

21*  Sum  up  the  teachings  of  Christ  that  the  African 
most  needs. 

22*  Sum  up  the  greatest  evils  that  now  exist  for  lack 
of  these  teachings. 

23  In  view  of  the  nature  and  possibilities  of  the 
African,  to  which  of  these  teachings  do  you 
think  he  will  most  quickly  respond? 

24*  What  is  the  need  of  personal  contact  of  the  mis- 
sionary with  the  native  in  Africa  as  compared 
with  other  fields? 


Dark  Peoples  and  Their  Customs       73 

25  What  is  the  call  to  the  Church  in  view  of   the 

ready  response  of  the  African  to  influence  and 
example? 

III...7n   view   of  the  rapid  advance  of   civilization. 

26  In  what  ways  has  the  African  been  benefited  by 

civilization? 
27*  What  do  you  consider  the  greatest  blessing  that 

mere  civilization  has  brought  to  him? 
28     What  will  it  fail  to  do  for  him? 
29*  In  what  ways  will  it  be  a  positive  evil  without 

Christianity? 
30     What  is  the  call  to  the  Church  in  view  of  the- 

rapid  advance  of  civilization  into  Africa? 


References  for  Papers  or  Talks. 

I. .  .Native  Characteristics. 

Bryce — Impressions  of  South  Africa,  Chs.  VIII,  X, 
Drummond — Tropical  Africa,  Ch.  III. 
Elmslie — Among  the  Wild  Ngoni,  Ch.  III. 
Hotchkiss — Sketches    from    the    Dark    Continent, 

Ch.  II. 
Nassau — Fetichism  in  West  Africa,  Ch.  I. 
Vincent— Actual  Africa,  Ch.  XLIX. 

II. .  .Cannibals  and  Dwarfs. 

DuChaillu — Equatorial  Africa  and  Country  of  the 

Dwarfs,  Chs.  VII,  XXXV. 
Stanley — Through    the    Dark    Continent,    Vol.    ir, 

pp.  200,  210,  224,  238,  266,  274. 
Verner — Pioneering  in  Central  Africa,  Ch.  XXI. 
Ward — Five  Years  with  the  Congo  Cannibals,  Pt. 

II.  Ch.  III. 


74        Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

III. .  .Animals  and  Insects. 

Bryce — Impressions  of  South  Africa,  Ch.  III. 
Drummond — Tropical  Africa,  Chs.  VI,  VII. 
DuChaillu — Equatorial  Africa  and  Country  of  the 

Dwarfs,  Chs.  XX,  XXII. 
Hotchkiss — Sketches  from  the  Dark  Continent,  Ch. 

VIII. 
James— The  Wild  Tribes  of  Sudan,  Ch.  XXVI. 
Tyler — Forty  Years  Among  the  Zulus,  Chs.  IX,  X. 


A    KELIGION    OF    DARKNESS 


Hast  thou  seen  what  [they]  do  in  the  dark,  every 
man  in  the  chambers  of  his  imagery?  .  .  .  Hast 
thou  seen  this?  Turn  thee  yet  again,  and  thou  shalt 
see  greater  abominations  than  these. 

EzEKiEL  viii:  12,  15. 


Ill 


A    RELIGION    OF    DARKNESS 

African  Paganism  or  Fetichism^  is  a  re- 
ligion of  darkness.  Its  prayers  are  peti- 
tions for  mercy  and  imprecations  upon  ene- 
mies, rather  than  praise  and  thanksgiving. 
Its  gods  are  malignant.  Love  for  them 
is  unknown.  Hope,  in  the  Christian  sense, 
an  anchor  to  the  soul  both  sure  and  stead- 
fast, is  foreign  to  Pagan  thought.  The 
African  conceives  himself  as  beset  behind 
and  before,  above  and  below,  by  innumer- 
able ill-tempered  spirits,  all,  with  one  ac- 
cord, consciously  and  constantly  attempt- 
ing to  frustrate  his  endeavors,  and  all  seek- 
ing his  injury  and  death.  He  thinks  that 
deceased  relatives  covet  his  company  in 
^^Deadland,''  and  for  some  time  after 
death   lurk   about  their   old  haunts   with 

^Paganism  is  treated  as  the  religion  of  Africa,  be^- 
cause  it  is  not  imported  as  is  Islamism,  but  is  native 
to  the  continent.  Fetichism,  from  feitico,  a  charm  or 
amulet,  since  its  introduction  by  the  pious  charm- 
peddling  Portuguese  priests  of  400  years  ago,  has  ab- 
sorbed most  of  the  Pagan  ideas  of  spirits,  charms, 
images,  religious  ceremonies,  ceremonial  garments, 
etc.  The  term  Fetichism  is  therefore  used  by  many 
when  referring  to  African  Paganism. 
77 


African 
Pagranism 


78       Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

snares  of  disease  and  violence.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  admiration  and  love  prompt 
these  sinister  attentions.  A  favorite  wife 
or  child  lives  in  constant  fear  of  the  sum- 
mons of  the  dead  husband  or  father  to  ac- 
company him  to  the  nether  world.  But  no 
fine  sentimentality  deters  the  African  from 
vigorous  protest  against  this  method  by 
which  he  thinks  his  departed  relatives  show 
their  love.  A  dream,  for  instance,  is 
supposed  to  be  the  actual  experience  of  the 
soul  of  the  dreamer  with  the  subject  of 
the  dream;  hence,  blood-curdling  curses 
are  practiced  in  order  that  they  may  be 
hurled  at  the  devoted  shade  should  he  aj)- 
pear  in  a  dream. 
Effected*  by  Furtlicrmorc,  indwelling,  conscious  spir- 

spirits  j|-g  ^yQ  attributed  to  every  natural  object, 

animate  and  inanimate.  Plants,  trees, 
fountains,  rivers,  lakes,  rocks,  cliffs,  moun- 
tains, fish,  reptiles,  birds,  animals,  are  to 
the  native  Pagan  African  the  possessors  of 
self-conscious,  self -directing  spirits.  There- 
fore, any  accident  is  supposed  by  the  Af- 
rican to  be  due  to  the  anger  or  the  caprice 
of  spirits.  He  knows  no  accidents.  Every- 
thing is  intended  and  is  effected  by  some 
rational  being. 
o  "spfruT"**"       Tlie  spirit-world  is  still  further  multi- 


A  Religion  of  Darkness 


79 


plied  by  applying  the  same  reasoning  to 
the  mysterious  forces  of  nature — lightning", 
thunder,  wind,  rain,  the  atmosphere,  and 
all  space — and  by  investing  them  with  evil 
spirits.  The  African  moreover  imagines 
that  the  spirits  are  arrayed  in  an  infernal 
league  against  him.  The  darkness  of  night 
cannot  hide  him  from  them,  nor  can  the 
blaze  of  tropical  noonday  insure  him 
against  their  invisible  intrigues. 

To  these  spirits  are  proffered  sacrifices 
of  varying  value,  for  the  purpose  of  pla- 
cating their  anger  or  of  purchasing  their 
assistance.  The  offering  may  consist  of  a 
straw  or  shell  picked  up  at  random  as  one 
l^asses  some  place  where  a  spirit  has  sup- 
posedly revealed  its  presence.  A  runner 
will  pause  to  add  a  pebble  to  the  pile  on  a 
log  that  has  fallen  across  the  path,  or  to 
thrust  a  twig  into  the  rent  of  a  tree  that 
has  been  struck  by  lightning.  By  such  rec- 
ognition he  holies  to  avoid  personal  vio- 
lence from  spirits  of  such  manifest  power. 

Regular  sacrifices  may  range  from  a 
morsel  of  meal,  or  a  few  drops  of  water,  to 
the  slaughter  of  animals  and  human  be- 
ings. The  self -mutilation  of  the  Bushman 
reveals  the  idea  of  deeper  personal  cost. 
The  exact  motive  in  cutting  off  one  or  more 


Sacrifices 


Personal   Cost 
of  Sacrifice 


Cliarins 


80       Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

joints  from  the  fingers  of  the  left  hand  has 
never  been  distinctly  learned  from  the  re- 
ticent little  yellow  people.  Yet  even  if  it 
is  now  simply  an  expression  of  mourning, 
as  some  imagine,  it  probably  originated  in 
the  thought  of  sacrifice,  and  is  closely  akin 
to  it.  For,  aside  from  the  enjoyment  of 
the  thing  offered,  the  spirits  fiendishly 
gloat  over  the  suffering  and  deprivation 
which  the  sacrifices  cost  their  devotees. 

To  procure  the  aid  of  spirits  charms  are 
used.  In  order  to  be  effective  the  charm 
must  be  composed  of  material  which  is  pe- 
culiarly pleasing  to  the  spirit  whose  good 
offices  are  solicited.  A  vile  concoction  of 
carrion,  portions  of  the  human  body — par- 
ticularly eyeballs,  for  which  graves  are 
rifled — are  among  the  most  valued  ingre- 
dients. The  teeth  of  the  lion  or  leopard 
are  highly  prized.  The  owner  of  a  charm 
thinks  that  he  is  protected  and  assisted  by 
the  spirit  of  the  charm,  and,  since  the 
thought  life  has  much  to  do  with  the  prac- 
tical life,  charms  do  help  the  African. 
Hung  up  in  the  hut  or  field,  a  charm  guards 
the  property  of  the  owner  better  than  a 
dozen  slaves.  The  slaves  themselves  are 
not  proof  against  theft.  The  charm  not 
only  cannot  steal,  but  the  sight  of  it,  or  the 


A  Religion  of  Darkness  8 1 

knowledge  of  its  presence,  fills  the  would- 
be  thief  with  fearful  forebodings.  He  pos- 
sibly could  evade  the  vigilance  and  escape 
the  pursuit  of  human  watchmen,  but  he 
thinks  that  to  ignore  the  guardianship  of  a 
charm  is  absolutely  certain  to  bring  ujDon 
him  the  direst  personal  consequences. 

Charms  are  commonly  worn  upon  the 
body  to  protect  from  disease  or  violence. 
The  spirit  of  the  charm  is  invoked  against 
the  spirits  of  the  air,  nature,  animals  and 
men.  That  the  wearer  of  a  charm  falls 
sick,  sulTers  injury  from  accident,  or  is 
killed  in  battle,  does  not  disturb  confidence 
in  the  practical  effectiveness  of  charms. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  stoically  and  naively 
explained  that  the  spirit  has  been  offered 
some  other  charm  of  greater  attractive- 
ness, or  that  a  stronger  spirit  has  over- 
come it. 

If  the  wearer  has  outlived  the  power  of 
his  charm,  he  returns  it  for  repairs  to  the 
fetich-doctor  from  whom  he  originally  pur- 
chased it.  This  shrewd  rascal  usually  finds 
that  the  charm  is  all  right,  but  that  it  does 
not  like  the  owner,  and  must  therefore  be 
replaced  by  another  and  of  course  more 
expensive  one.  The  deluded  customer  hag- 
gles and  tries  to  compromise  on  the  price, 


Cbarms   Worn 


Repairing; 
Cliarms 


82      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

but  ends  by  purchasing.  He  trusts  trem- 
blingly in  the  new  charm,  until  its  power, 
too,  is  disproved,  then  buys  another;  and 
so  the  farce  goes  on  indefinitely.  Faith  in 
the  ability  to  bribe  the  favor  of  one  or  more 
spirits  is  seldom  lost. 
God""*  ^^^  -^^  ^^^^  African's  thought,  all  spirits  are 

related.  He  does  not  draw  fine  distinc- 
tions between  spirits  and  gods.  The  terms 
are  interchangeable.  He  conceives  them, 
together  with  man,  as  part  of  one  great 
whole — a  continuous  line  of  conscious  be- 
ings, ranging  from  the  lowest  water  sprite, 
through  all  the  intervening  nature  spirits, 
human  spirits,  and  spirits  wholly  independ- 
ent of  matter,  up  to  the  supreme  God.  The 
various  members  of  the  series,  excepting 
possibly  the  last,  differ  not  in  kind  but  in 
degree.  The  relation  between  animal  and 
human  sjjirits  indicates  the  essential  kin- 
ship of  all.  A  deceased  ancestor  may  re- 
turn in  the  form  of  a  serpent  or  elephant 
or  other  animal.  In  some  sections  of  the 
continent  every  person  is  supposed  to  have 
a  second  individuality  resident  in  some  ani- 
mal in  the  bush.  It  seems  that  the  higher 
spirits  are  only  further  evolutions  of  na- 
ture spirits  and  ancestral  spirits.  This  is 
no  denial  that  the  African,  in  common  with 


Gods 


A  Religion  of  Darkness  83 

all  men,  has  an  inborn  idea  of  God.  It 
simply  indicates  the  inevitable  consequence 
when  the  natural  soul-reach  after  God  is 
perverted  and  corrupted. 

The  gods  are  divided  into  four  main  <^'««»^*  «>'  ^o*** 
classes — general  gods,  worshiped  by  vari- 
ous tribes  over  large  sections  of  country; 
tribal  gods,  which  have  no  recognition  be- 
yond the  limits  of  their  respective  tribes; 
family  gods,  each  for  its  particular  family ; 
and  individual  gods,  each  the  sole  property 
of  a  particular  person. 

Any  Pagan,  fearful  lest  the  family,  tribal,  J."'^,*7**°** 
and  general  deities  be  too  preoccupied  to 
give  adequate  attention  to  his  personal  af- 
fairs, may  secure  a  rude  image  secretly 
from  a  priest,  or  may  himself  carve  one. 
Gruesome  and  noisome  rites  dedicate  this 
as  the  abode  of  some  god.  The  underlying 
idea  of  charms  and  images  is  that  spirits 
must  have  some  tangible  object  to  work 
through,  just  as  the  spirit  of  man  has  the 
body.  These  individual  gods  have  nothing 
to  do  but  to  advance  the  interests  of  their 
respective  worshipers.  Since  the  Pagan 
has  so  many  interests  that  are  hostile  to 
the  property  and  life  of  his  neighbors,  and 
since  the  gods  chosen  for  individual  wor- 
ship are  ordinarily  dedicated  to  revenge 


84       Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


Family  Gods 


Tribal  Gods 


and  violence,  and  since  anyone  who  sets 
about  the  injury  of  another  in  so  pious  a 
manner  as  to  devote  a  god  to  that  end  usu- 
ally effects  his  purposes,  the  possessor  of 
an  individual  god  is  much  feared.  In  some 
quarters  priests  and  witch-doctors  are  for- 
bidden to  make  them,  and  any  one  appre- 
hended in  the  possession  of  an  individual 
god  may  be  put  to  death.  But  the  priests 
secretly  continue  to  make  the  forbidden 
images,  and  thus  secure  a  power  over  their 
patrons,  upon  whom  they  may  inform  with- 
out danger  to  themselves. 

The  family  also  desires  the  sole  atten- 
tion of  some  one  god.  Even  though  it 
were  feasible  for  each  member  to  have  an 
individual  god,  the  family  as  a  unit  has  in- 
terests of  sufficient  scope  to  occupy  the  un- 
divided favor  of  a  god  of  family  caliber. 
The  family  god  is  often  represented  by  a 
little  image  and  shrine  in  a  niche  of  the  hut. 
There  is  no  ban  upon  any  except  individual 
gods.  It  seems  to  be  recognized  that  pub- 
licity lessens  the  liability  of  crime.  The 
African  is  very  suspicious  of  anything  that 
is  the  exclusive  secret  of  one  person. 

Eeasons  similar  to  the  foregoing  justify 
to  the  Pagan  his  tribal  gods.  The  tribe 
as  a  unit  needs  the  services  of  gods  of 


A  Religion  of  Darkness  85 

greater  potency  than  tlie  sum  of  power  pos- 
sessed by  all  family  gods,  and  while  such 
power  may  not  approach  that  of  great  gen- 
eral deities,  the  entire  attention  of  even  a 
small  god  may  mean  much  when  the  gen- 
eral god  is  on  a  journey,  or  asleep,  or  con- 
cerned with  other  matters.  The  tribal  god 
may  have  one  or  more  shrines,  many  im- 
ages or  none/ 

The  Pagan  fancies  that  the  concern  of  <^^"^«'-»i  ««*« 
the  gods  in  earthly  affairs  is  in  inverse  ra- 
tio to  the  importance  of  the  gods.  The 
great  general  deities  are  believed  to  be 
more  indifferent  to  human  interests  than 
are  tribal  and  family  gods.  Still,  so  much 
greater  powers  are  attributed  to  general 
gods  that  their  attention  to  any  important 
matter  is  much  valued.  They  come  into 
particular  prominence  in  crises  of  war, 
famine,  and  pestilence.  Except  on  such  oc- 
casions they  are  disregarded.  They  are  so 
far  away  and  so  indifferent  to  men  that 

^The  African  is  far  less  dependent  upon  images 
and  has  fewer  of  them,  than  some  peoples  of  much 
higher  religious  conceptions  in  other  respects.  He 
seems  capable  of  grasping  the  thought  of  spiritual  be- 
ings without  the  aid  of  tangible  objects.  He  clears 
himself  from  the  charge  of  dependence  upon  charms 
and  images,  when  he  does  employ  them,  by  the  plea 
that  the  spirits  and  gods  delight  in  them  or  require 
them  as  fulcrums  with  which  to  effect  results  in  this 
world  of  sense. 


Gods   are 
Demons 


86       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

they  take  no  account  of  the  ordinary  rou- 
tine of  life.  Why  should  man  pay  any  at- 
tention to  them  except  in  times  of  extra- 
ordinary stress?  Possibly  then  they  will 
hear!  Thus  does  the  Pagan  excuse  his 
neglect  of  worship"  of  the  greater  gods  of 
his  demoniacal  household. 

Nearly  all  of  the  Pagan's  gods  are  de- 
mons, and  demons  without  any  disguise  to 
cover  their  hideousness.  The  cruel  bar- 
barities of  the  Pagan  do  not  necessarily 
spring  from  an  inborn  brutality  of  nature, 
but  from  his  ideas  of  gods  and  religion. 
His  gods  are  overgrown  savages,  revel- 
ing in  drunkenness,  debauchery,  vicious  im- 
moralities, obscene  orgies.  As  raving  lions 
they  go  about  seeking  whom  they  may  de- 
vour. Characteristic  titles  for  the  gods  are 
''The  Hater,"  ''Malignancy,"  "Producer 
of  Calamities."  Occasionally  a  benevolent 
deity  may  be  found  in  the  African's  the- 
ology, but  if  so  it  may  be  assumed  that  its 
benevolence  is  indifferent  rather  than  ac- 
tive. The  idea  may  arise  because  accidents 
have  become  less  frequent  in  the  locality 
ascribed  to  a  given  god,  and  the  god  in 
question  is  therefore  supposed  to  have 
grown  less  malignant.  Such  a  deity  is  apt 
to  be  quickly  forgotten,  for  the  African  in- 


A  Religion  of  Darkness  87 

separably  connects  his  gods  with  the 
thought  of  danger  and  violence. 

The  ascendino'  series  represented  by  in-   ^*'**.^"**"*F  „  , 

ox  "  aeries     of    Goua 

dividual,  family,  tribal,  and  general  gods 
is  continued  indefinitely  under  the  last 
named  class.  Above  and  back  of  the  best 
known  and  most  worshiped  general  gods 
are  others.  Back  of  them  are  still  others, 
although  not  so  many  in  each  succeeding 
stage  of  less  known  and  more  indifferent 
deities.  On  and  on  the  mind  may  continue 
to  flounder  in  darkness  that  becomes 
palpable. 

There  are  hopeful  gleams   of  truth  in   cieams  of 

.  ^  Truth 

all  this  wandering  of  the  black  philoso- 
pher. It  is  in  his  conception  of  general 
deities  that  he  reveals  ability  to  think  of 
spirits  existing  and  operating  apart  from 
matter,  uncreated  intelligences  which  are 
not  made,  nor  born,  nor  evolved,  but  are 
self-existent,  or  as  he  puts  it,  '^do  it  all 
themselves. ' ' 

It  must  also  be  recognized  that,  in  the  J^^f]*  toward 
midst  of  this  maze  of  intervening  spirits, 
there  is  an  ever  narrowing  circle  in  respect 
to  number,  an  inevitable  push  toward  un- 
ity. One  might  despair  lest  the  idea  of  one 
god,  as  the  common  heritage  of  man,  had 
been  utterly  lost,  and  that  there  would  be 


Unity 


88       Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

little  or  nothing  to  bnild  Christian  concep- 
tions upon.  The  idea  is  there,  notwith- 
standing. Though  crowded  to  the  outskirts 
of  recognition,  God  the  Eternal  figures  in 
the  hazy  background  of  Pagan  theology. 
Some  of  the  most  pathetic  experiences  of 
missionaries  occur  in  attempts  to  clear  the 
Pagan  mind  of  the  vague  mystification  con- 
cerning deity.  They  must  overcome  indif- 
ference to  God  and  introduce  an  adequate 
idea  of  the  nature  of  Him  who  wishes  to 
act  directly  with  every  person  without  any 
intervening  spirits.  To  brains  so  long  be- 
fogged by  words  without  knowledge  it  is  a 
difficult  task.  "I  think  1  know  what  you 
mean, ' '  said  an  African  girl,  after  days  of 
questioning  as  to  whether  she  knew  any- 
thing of  God.  ^  ^  It  is  something  great,  and 
passes  on  the  water  far  away. '  '^  The  name 
she  gave  was  that  used  for  deity  through- 
out a  large  section  of  Central  Africa. 
Others  apparently  limp  backward  in  their 
thought,  slowly,  laboriously,  beyond  fam- 
ily, tribal,  and  general  gods,  as  if  the  idea 
were  only  a  faint  race  memory,  and  that 
all  but  lost,  to  the  ^'Old,  Old  One.'^  But 
still  the  idea  of  God,  not  simply  of  spirits 
and  gods,  but  of  God  himself,  is  there. 
^W.  Holman  Bentley.    Pioneering  on  the  Congo, 


A  Religion  of  Darkness 


89 


It  is  a  fact  of  tremendous  significance 
that  despite  the  centuries  of  the  Pagan's 
blind  groping  after  demoniacal  spirits,  de- 
spite the  barbarities  with  which  his  daily 
life  has  abounded  for  generation  upon  gen- 
eration, despite  the  ^ '  abnormal  folds  of  ani- 
malism" with  which  it  is  covered,  the  idea 
of  God  persists,  and  is  capable  of  revival 
and  enlargement.  Some  missionaries  find 
a  distinct  conception  of  the  existence  of  the 
supreme  God.  Dr.  Robert  Nassau,  after 
forty  years  of  missionary  service  in  Af- 
rica, says  that  he  has  never  been  asked, 
^ '  Who  is  God  ? "  He  has  never  met  any  one 
who  did  not  understand  at  once  the  distinc- 
tion between  God  and  all  other  gods,  how- 
ever great.  ^'Ile  is  the  All-Father,"  his 
auditors  would  invariably  say.  "He  made 
these  trees,  that  mountain,  this  river,  these 
goats  and  chickens,  and  us  people. ' '  But  in 
common  with  all  others,  this  venerable  mis- 
sionary has  also  found  that  they  have  little 
more  than  the  name  for  God  and  the  mea- 
ger knowledge  that  he  made  all  things. 
They  know  nothing  of  his  love,  his  bene- 
volence, his  hnpartial  justice,  his  infinite 
and  intimate  concern  for  every  man.  ' '  Yes, 
he  made  us,  but  having  made  us,  he  is  far 
from  us.     Why  should  we  care  for  him? 


Idea  of  God 
Persistent 


Conception   of 
One  Goa 


Promise   of  a 
Ncsv  Mail 


90        Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

He  does  not  help  nor  harm  us.  It  is  tEe 
spirits  who  can  harm  us,  whom  we  fear  and 
worship,  and  for  whom  we  care."^ 

When  to  the  Pagan's  knowledge  of  God's 
name  is  added  an  appreciation  of  hi  s  char- 
acter, there  is  the  promise  of  a  new  man. 
Often  there  is  nothing  more  than  the  prom- 
ise. Some  so-called  converts  are  most 
superficial,  as  is  the  case  in  every  mission 
field,  and  the  missionaries  who  understand 
the  native  character  are  constantly  on  the 
alert  lest  those  who  are  spiritually  unpre- 
pared should  be  received  into  the  church. 
Christianity  is  frequently  professed  be- 
cause of  the  real  or  supposed  material  ad- 
vantages such  profession  assures.  More- 
over, the  thought  of  one  God  of  love  is 
more  attractive  than  the  idea  of  innumer- 
able and  malignant  gods.  Still  one  may 
welcome  the  thought  without  experiencing 
a  change  of  heart.  It  should  be  said,  how- 
ever, that  the  African  truly  born  again  as 
Christ  taught  Nicodemus  the  way,  is  as 
humble  and  exemplary  a  follower  of  Christ 
as  one  could  wish. 
^™m"es  ^^^^  African's  religious  philosophy  re- 

sults in  various  grotesque  and  barbarous 
practices.    His  justification  of  human  sac- 

^R.  H.  Nassau.    Fetichism  in  West  Africa. 


A  Religion  of  Darkness  91 

rifice  is  strictly  religious.  Since  ordinary 
sacrifice  is  necessary  to  keep  the  gods  in 
good  temper  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
the  offering  of  men  and  women  is  essen- 
tial on  occasions  of  great  moment.  The 
frequent  slaughter  of  scores  of  human  be- 
ings at  a  time,  so  recently  prohibited  by  the 
English  occupation  of  Ashanti,  was  in- 
spired by  very  pious  motives — to  supply 
the  needs  of  the  gods,  avert  their  ven- 
geance, and  win  their  favor. 

Accompanying  the  thought  that  life  in 
^'Deadland"  is  a  vshadow  of  life  above  '^"^ 
ground,  the  Pagan  thinks  that  the  shades 
of  chiefs  and  ancestors  must  also  have  with 
them  the  shades  of  slaves,  wives,  and  war- 
riors. So  human  sacrifice  has  its  manward 
as  well  as  its  godward  side.  The  idea  that 
men  carry  their  loves  and  hates,  their  am- 
bitions and  endeavors,  beyond  the  grave, 
means  that  the  shades  are  striving  for  the 
same  ends  and  fighting  the  same  battles 
with  the  shades  of  their  tribal  enemies  as 
occupy  their  living  friends  with  enemies  in 
the  body.  The  conception  of  the  power 
of  spirits  over  earthly  affairs  is,  therefore, 
a  keen  incentive  to  furnish  the  dead  of  a 
tribe  with  sufficient  fresh  recruits  to  over- 
come  any  possible   acquisition   that  may 


Deadland    is 
the   SIiadoTV   of 


92        Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


Burial  Alive 


Messages    to 
tlie   Dead 


have  come  to  the  spirit  army  of  the  tribe's 
enemies. 

The  burial  alive  of  the  wives  of  a  chief 
with  his  dead  body  is  the  first  installment 
of  this  phase  of  human  sacrifice.  Several 
wives  are  laid  upon  the  floor  of  the  burial 
pit,  and  across  their  living  bodies  the 
corpse  is  extended,  with  the  head  reclining 
in  the  arms  of  the  favorite  wife.  A  slave 
kneels  at  the  feet,  presenting  to  the  dead 
chief  his  pipe,  tobacco,  spear  and  battle- 
ax.  After  the  earth  has  been  filled  in  over 
the  living  and  the  dead,  slaves  may  be 
slaughtered  upon  the  newly  made  grave. 
After  several  subsequent  sacrifices  have 
been  offered  in  honor  of  the  spirit  of  tlie 
deceased,  it  is  not  surprising  that  his  spirit 
is  sometimes  deified. 

Messages  to  the  dead  are  a  natural  se- 
quence of  the  idea  of  their  continued  in- 
terest in  worldly  matters.  Those  dying  nat- 
ural deaths  are  sometimes  asked  to  carry 
these  messages.  But  a  case  may  seem  too 
urgent  to  wait  for  some  one  to  die.  So  the 
message  is  repeated  to  a  slave  until  he  un- 
derstands it  perfectly,  his  head  is  struck  off 
l)efore  he  can  forget  it,  and  his  spirit  is 
sent  on  the  dark  mission.  If  something 
further  relating  to  the  message  is  thought 


Cannlbaliana 


A  Religion  of  Darkness  93 

of,  a  postscript^  is  added  by  despatching 
a  second  slave  in  the  same  manner. 

Cannibalism  in  Africa  is  another  of  the 
inhuman  practices  that  have  grown  out  of 
native  religion.  It  is  believed  by  careful 
authorities  to  have  originated  as  a  sacri- 
ficial feast.  It  is  certainly  connected  with 
the  theory  that  everything  possesses  spirit 
and  that  every  occurrence  is  the  result  of 
the  action  of  spirit  upon  spirit.  For  in- 
stance, it  is  thought  that  food  strengthens, 
not,  as  we  would  say,  by  the  process  of 
assimilation,  but  by  the  spirit  of  the  food 
being  appropriated  by  the  spirit  of  the 
body.  Warriors  mutilate  the  bodies  of  the 
slain,  and  either  eat  or  make  charms  of 
bits  that  are  believed  best  to  represent  the 
life  principle,  because  they  hope  to  make 
the  spirit  of  the  victim  their  own.  Dr. 
Duff  MacDonald-  knew  a  powerful  head 
tribesman  in  the  Shire  highlands,  whose 
success  in  battle  was  attributed  by  his 
tribe  to  the  fact  that  he  had  eaten  the  en- 
tire body  of  a  strong  young  man. 

Scarcity  of  meat  and  depraved  tastes  are   Depraved 
no   doubt,   if  not   causes   of   cannibalism, 
strong  incentives  to  it.    Some  tribes  of  the 

^James  MacDonald.    Myths  and  Religion. 
=Duff  MacDonald.    Africana. 


Taste  and  Can- 
nibal Raids 


94       Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


Cannibal    Zone 


Witcbcrnft 


Congo  basin  have  been  known  to  refuse 
trade  in  everything  but  human  flesh.  Con- 
tinual raids  are  made  upon  the  neighboring 
tribes  to  restock  the  human  fattening  pens. 
Such  depravity  could  easily  spring  from 
the  orgies  and  debaucheries  of  feasts  fol- 
lowing human  sacrifices.  Eaiding  for  hu- 
man flesh  is  not  a  long  leap  from  the  relig- 
ious ceremony  where  the  sacrificed  victim 
is  thrown  alive  from  a  platform  to  the 
throng  below,  there  to  be  cut  to  pieces  and 
divided  among  the  ravenous,  bloodthirsty 
worshipers,  before  reaching  the  ground. 
Such  a  scene  was  witnessed  by  Cruikshank 
in  Ashanti.^ 

Not  all  Pagans  are  cannibals,  but  can- 
nibalism is  a  legitimate  fruit  of  Paganism, 
and  the  abhorrent  custom  is  very  wide- 
spread. The  cannibal  zone,  where  all  trav- 
elers find  the  practice  established  to  a 
greater  or  less  degree,  either  as  a  religious 
or  social  institution,  extends  from  the 
west  Guinea  Coast  eastward  to  the  head- 
waters of  the  Nile,  and  southward  from 
this  line  to  include  most  of  the  enormous 
stretch  of  the  Congo  basin.- 

Witchcraft  is  both  an  outgrowth  of  the 

^A.  B.  Ellis,     Ewe-Speaking  Peoples. 
'Cannibalism  occurs  elsewhere,  but  in  this  zone  it  is 
more  prevalent. 


A  Religion  of  Darkness  95 

fundamental  doctrine  of  African  Paganism 
and  one  of  the  principal  objects  against 
which  that  same  Paganism  legislates.  Be- 
ing the  supposed  familiarity  of  a  living 
person  with  disembodied  spirits,  it  is 
the  logical  sequence  of  the  idea  that  spirits, 
usually  diabolical,  take  a  lively  interest  in 
human  affairs.  On  the  other  hand,  its 
death-dealing  power,  when  employed,  is 
deemed  so  unfailing  that  society  must  take 
rigorous  methods  for  self-protection. 

The  facts  that  a  large  proportion  of  Pa- 
gan Africans  die  violent  deaths  and  that 
others  die  without  apparent  cause  are  so 
jumbled  together  as  to  mean  that  violence 
on  the  part  of  man  or  spirit  causes  every 
death.  The  African  never  thinks  of  death 
as  natural,  or  accidental,  or  as  due  to  un- 
sanitary conditions  and  contagion.  Such 
reasons  seem  to  him  most  illogical.  His 
logic — and  one  need  only  grant  him  his 
premise  to  see  that  he  has  plenty  of  it — 
argues  that  everything,  everything  occurs 
from  the  action  of  spirit  on  spirit.  If  a 
man  is  knocked  on  the  head,  shot  in  battle, 
crushed  by  a  falling  tree,  the  cause  is  evi- 
dent. Usually,  in  case  of  any  death,  when 
wounds  cannot  be  found,  the  verdict  of  the 
average  Pagan  mind  is  that  some  evilly 


All  Deaths  by 
Violence 


g6       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


Wltcli- 
pala-rer 


disposed  member  of  the  community  has 
connived  with  equally  evilly  disposed  spir- 
its and  bewitched  the  deceased.  Any  unus- 
ual or  mysterious  occurrence,  such  as  the 
death  of  an  animal  by  disease,  ill  fortune  in 
battle,  drought  or  flood,  may  also  be  cred- 
ited to  witchcraft.  In  any  event,  if  guilt 
be  proved  to  the  African 's  satisfaction,  the 
witch  is  impressively  and  effectively  dis- 
posed of. 

^'Witch-palaver"  is  the  legal  process, 
conducted  by  the  witch-doctor,  which  fol- 
lows the  charge  of  witchcraft.  Details 
vary,  but  the  main  features  of  such  a 
trial  are:  The  preliminary  investigation, 
the  public  ^'smelling-out"  of  the  witch,  and 
the  ordeal  to  prove  the  guilt  or  innocence 
of  the  accused.  The  preliminary  investiga- 
tion consists  of  a  private  hearing  by  the 
witch-doctor  of  all  the  suppositions  of  the 
community  as  to  possible  reasons  why  this, 
that,  or  the  other  person  might  have  been 
interested  in  the  death  or  property  loss  of 
the  bewitched.  The  public  part  of  the 
Smelling  ont  wltch-palavcr  is  the  farce  of  smelling 
out  the  witch  from  the  assembled  neigh- 
bors. To  absent  oneself  from  the  smell- 
ing out  is  taken  as  a  confession  of  guilt. 
The  witch-doctor  dances  about,  yells,  foams 


Preliminary 
Investigration 


A  Religion  of  Darkness 


97 


at  the  mouth,  pretending  to  be  possessed 
by  a  god  who  will  give  him  an  unerring 
scent  for  witches.  After  working  himself 
and  the  people  into  a  frenzy  of  excitement, 
he  runs  in  and  out  among  the  throng,  smell- 
ing each  person  and  wildly  yelling  at  the 
odor  of  blood  which  he  affects  to  detect  as 
he  approaches  the  vicinity  of  the  one  to  be 
charged  with  witchcraft.  The  ordeal,  which 
consists  ordinarily  of  the  drinking  of 
poison,  follows.  If  the  accused  vomits  the 
poison  without  suffering  serious  harm,  he 
is  counted  innocent.  If  he  grows  dizzy  and 
shows  other  symptoms  of  ill  effects  from  it, 
he  is  given  over  to  all  the  fiendish  torture 
and  outrage  which  barbarous  imagination 
can  devise. 

One  person  may  accuse  another  of  witch- 
craft to  his  face,  and  the  accused  may  chal- 
lenge his  accuser  to  the  ordeal.  Both  take 
the  poison,  and  both  may  be  dead,  in  the 
effort  to  prove  each  other  rascals,  before 
the  witch-doctor  has  an  opportunity  to  fill 
his  purse  from  the  quarrel.  An  innocent 
person,  trusting  implicitly  for  a  favorable 
verdict  from  the  ordeal,  instead  of  shun- 
ning the  test,  courts  it.  A  guilty  person  is 
inclined  to  confess  and  to  throw  himself 
upon  the  doubtful  mercy  of  men,  rather 


Tlie    Ordeal 


Private    Witeli- 
palaver 


98        Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


Wholesale 

Witeh- 

palaver 


Tool  for  Gree«l 
and   Vengeance 


than  upon  the  certain  vengeance  of  the 
spirits. 

The  inhabitants  of  one  village  may 
charge  those  of  another  with  witchcraft; 
whereupon  all  parties,  both  accusers  and 
accused,  must  take  the  poison.  The  number 
of  survivors  is  dependent  upon  the  strength 
of  the  poison  and  the  constitutions  of  those 
taking  it.  Those  who  do  recover  are  likely 
to  be  injured  for  life.  Dr.  Elmslie^  tells 
of  visiting  two  villages,  after  such  a  whole- 
sale witch-palaver,  in  time  to  save  a  few 
of  the  sick  and  dying. 

It  will  be  seen  that  witchcraft  readily 
becomes  a  tool  for  greed  and  vengeance. 
Any  member  of  a  community  may  adroitly 
start  the  rumor  that  so-and-so  is  a  witch, 
and  has  plotted  with  evil  spirits  to  cause 
any  mysterious  calamity  in  question.  The 
witch-palaver  then  opens  a  sluice-gate  for 
envious  and  self-interested  gossip.  If  the 
witch-doctor  has  not  previously  agreed 
(for  a  price)  to  condemn  some  particular 
individual,  this  gossip  will  reveal  to  him 
the  unpopular  person  of  the  village,  and 
he  is  thus  able  to  command  approbation  for 
his  '^smelling  out."  The  witch-doctor  can 
demand  any  fee  he  chooses,  and  take  it 


^W.   A.  Elmslie,  M.D.,  Among  the  Wild  Ngoni. 


A  Religion  of  Darkness 


99 


from  the  confiscated  property  of  the  one 
he  convicts  as  a  witch.  The  witch-doctor 
himself  is  frequently  the  one  to  suggest 
that  witchcraft  has  been  practiced.  Such 
a  proceeding  is  profitable  in  dull  times. 
The  truth  is  that  owing  to  the  widespread 
belief  in  their  infallibility,  witch  trials 
long  since  have  become  a  gigantic  system  of 
blackmail.  • 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Afri- 
can himself  is  not  skeptical  concerning  the 
genuineness  of  witch-palavers.  There  is  no 
proof,  alibi  or  anything  else,  that  will  stand 
in  a  witch  trial  against  the  ordeal. 
Unanimous  testimony  may  vindicate  or 
condemn  the  accused,  but  the  trial  by  or- 
deal is,  in  the  African  mind,  a  trial  by  the 
spirit  of  the  ordeal,  and  its  decision  is 
final. 

Belief  in  witchcraft  extends  throughout 
Pagan  Africa.  It  is  estimated  that  4,000,- 
000  people  are  killed  annually  in  the  en- 
deavor to  discover  witches.  Whole  dis- 
tricts have  been  depopulated  by  witch 
trials. 

It  requires  an  effort  for  a  person  in  civ- 
ilization to  bear  continually  in  mind  the 
fact  that  the  African  is  very  religious.  He 
may  not  appear  so  when  judged  by  the 


Implicit     Belief 
in    Witch- 
palavers 


Widespread. 
Belief  in 
Witchcraft 


The  African 
Very    ReligiouK 


lOO     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


Effect    on 
Morals 


Tlie  Future 
Life 


morality  which  present-day  civilization  de- 
mands of  religion.  But  to  the  African 
morals  and  religion  have  no  relation.  Ly- 
ing, stealing,  and  murder  are  civil,  not  re- 
ligious offences.  The  gods  take  no  account 
of  such  actions.  They  concern  only  men. 
The  fact  is  that  there  is  not  an  awful  crime 
or  licentious  vice  in  the  catalogue  which 
may  not  be  committed  in  the  very  service 
of  the  gods. 

Since  the  office  of  some  gods  is  to  inflame 
passion,  the  effect  upon  the  virtue  of  the 
community  may  be  conjectured.  Priests 
are  privileged  to  do  anything  their  corrupt 
hearts  may  direct  when  "possessed"^  by  a 
god.  In  some  quarters  self-protection 
has  demanded  a  law  that,  inviolate  though 
he  may  be  during  "possession,"  the  priest 
may  afterward  be  held  accountable  for  his 
deeds  while  possessed.  The  priestesses 
lead  most  immoral  lives;  Ellis  declares 
that  every  fourth  woman  on  the  Slave 
Coast  is  a  priestess,  or  ''wife  of  the  gods." 

The  Pagan  African's  idea  of  the  future 
life  is  only  a  hazy  conviction  of  a  shadowy 
existence  in  a  shadow  world,  the  monotony 
of  which  is  broken  here  and  there  by  a 
re-incarnation  into  this  world  of  violence 


^The  state  of  being  in  a  feigned  trance. 


A  Religion  of  Darkness  loi 

and  sensuality.  Where  the  belief  in  re-in- 
carnation is  lacking,  the  monotony  is  un- 
relieved. Helpless  and  hopeless  he  goes 
out  into  the  dark. 

The  limits  of  this  chapter  allow  only  this 
meager  summary  of  the  outstanding  facts 
of  African  Paganism.  Delicacy  permits 
but  the  most  guarded  references  to  the 
revolting  brutality  and  nauseating  licen- 
tiousness which  are  the  legitimate  otf- 
spring  of  Pagan  gods  and  religion.  To  be 
consistent  with  his  perverted  conceptions 
of  religion  the  African  cannot  be  other 
than  he  is.  Brutality  lies  not  in  himself, 
but  in  his  religion.  Even  when  slightly 
separated  from  his  religion,  and  for  a  short 
time  influenced  by  Christianity,  he  has 
proved  to  be  a  model  of  docility,  trust- 
worthiness, and  inherent  kindness.  The 
Pagan  African  is  what  he  is  because  of  his 
religion.  Change  his  religion  and  you 
change  the  African. 


A   SnuiBiary- 


102      Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


QUESTIONS    FOR   CHAPTER    III. 

Aim:    To  Trace  the  Evils  of  Paganism  from  Root 
TO  Fruit. 

1  Try  to  imagine  and  state  what  you   think   life 

would  be  like  if  you  believed  that  j^ou  were 
surrounded  by  many  powerful  spirits  able  to  do 
you  harm. 

2  How  would  it  compare  with  living  unvaccinated 

in  the  midst  of  a  smallpox  epidemic? 

3  How  would  it  affect  your  outdoor  life  to  imagine 

that  trees,  rocks,  etc.,  were  inhabited  by  jealous 

spirits? 
4*  How  should  you  feel  about  investigating  the  se- 
crets of  nature? 
5     Would  your  charms  and  offerings  bring  you  any 

real  sense  of  security?    Why  not? 
6*  If  you  could  fully  understand  and  believe  it,  how 

would  the  Ninety-first  Psalm  appeal  to  you  in 

such  a  situation? 
7*  Believing  in  this  world  of  capricious  spirits,  what 

ideas  would  you  have  of  cause  and  effect? 

8  How    would    this    influence    your    steadiness    in 

thought  and  action? 

9  Could  you  form  large  ideas  and  plans  ia  such  a 

state  of  mind? 

10  What  sort  of  stories  would  you  be  willing  to  be- 
lieve? 

11*  What  does  the  African  lose  in  losing  the  thought 
of  the  unity  and  omnipotence  of  God? 

12  Had  the  spirits  of  paganism  any  love  of  righte- 

ousness? 

13  Must  a  man  purify  himself  inwardly  to  deal  with 

them  and  control  them? 


A  Religion  of  Darkness  103 

14*  What  result  would  this  have  on  a  mau's  better 
nature? 

15  What  incentive  would  there  be  to  do  right? 

16  How  should  you  feel  if  you  knew  that  any  evil- 

minded  man   might  bribe  a  spirit  to   do   you 
harm? 
17*  How  would  this  affect  the  mutual  confidence  of 
the  community? 

18  What  has  been  the  effect  of  witchcraft  in  produc- 

ing distrust?  in  causing  loss  of  life? 

19  Describe  the  evils  of  witchcraft  and  show  their 

results. 

20  Had  the  spirits  any  regard  for  the  real  welfare 

of  mankind? 

21  Could  you  depend  on  their  willingness  to  help 

you  if  you  were  too  poor  to  bribe  them? 

22  Had  they  any  sympathy  for  those  in  misfortune? 

23  How  did  they   feel   towards  sacrifices  involving 

cruelty? 

24  What  are  some  of  the  results  in  this  delight  in 

bloodshed? 
25*  Try   to   imagine  yourself  living  in  a  situation 
where  such  things  could  happen. 

26  Should  you  have  any  glad  hope  of  meeting  such 

spirits  in  the  next  world? 

27  How  is  cannibalism  a  fruit  of  paganism? 

28  To  what  extent  do  the  tribal  and  higher  gods  take 

any  interest  in  the  individual? 
29*  How  should  you  begin  to  teach  an  African  about 

the  true  God? 
30*  What  are  some  of  the  attributes  of  God  that  the 

African  spirits  lack? 
31*  What  are  some  of  the  principal  results  of  this 

lack? 
32*  What  will  the  love  of  God  mean  to  the  African 

when  he  really  understands  it? 
33     Does  it  seem  to  you  worth  while  to  bring  him 

this  idea? 


104      Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


References  fob  Papers  or  Talks. 

I..  .Fetichism. 
Bentley — Pioneering  on  the  Congo,  Vol.  I;  pp.  256, 

257,  290,  365. 
Nassau — Fetichism  in  West  Africa,  Chs.  VI,  VII,  X, 

XI,  XV. 
Vincent— Actual  Africa,  pp.  438,  445,  457,  488. 
Wilson— Western  Africa,  Pt.  Ill;  Ch.  IV. 

II...  Witchcraft. 
Bentley — Pioneering  on  the  Congo,  Vol.  I;  pp.  264, 

270,  273,  411,  415. 
Dennis — Christian    Missions    and    Social   Progress, 

Vol.  I;  pp.  198-201. 
Elmslie — Among  the  Wild  Ngoni,  pp.  59,  153,  160, 

223. 
Nassau — Fetichism  in  West  Africa,  Chs.  VIII,  IX. 
Verner — Pioneering  in  Central  Africa,  p.  313. 

Ill . . .  Spirit  Worship. 

Elmslie — Among  the  Wild  Ngoni,  pp.  67,  70. 
Nassau — Fetichism  in  West  Africa,  Chs.  IV,  V. 
Tyler — Forty  Years  Among  the  Zulus,  Ch.  XI. 


WHAT    OF    THE    NIGHT? 


The  land  dark  as  midnight, 

The  land  of  the  shadow  of  death,  without  any  order. 

And  where  the  light  is  as  midnight. — Job  x:  22. 


IV 


WHAT    OF    THE    NIGHT  T 

The  moral  night  of  Africa  may  be  par-  Moral  Nisut 
tially  apprehended  from  reference  to  some 
of  the  problems  which  are  involved  in  the 
uplift  of  the  African.  A  view  of  these 
problems  is  also  essential  to  an  adequate 
understanding  of  the  significance  of  the 
transformations  effected  by  Christianity. 

The  problem  presented  by  the  greatest  Paganism 
number  of  Africans  is  Paganism — the  low- 
est rung  of  the  religious  ladder.  Paganism 
is  not  all  superstition,  but  it  approaches 
so  near  this  low  level  that  it  appears  a 
jumble  of  superstitious  fears,  spiritualistic 
terrors,  and  horrible  rites.  It  is  the  chaos 
of  religion,  where  faith  and  morals  are 
without  form  and  void.  In  Africa  its  dark- 
ness is  unrelieved  even  by  such  pale  light 
as  emanates  from  the  heathen  religions  of 
China,  India,  Japan,  and  Korea.^    Pagan- 

^While  Paganism  and  Heathenism  are  commonly- 
used  interchangeably,  there  is  ample  warrant  for 
using  Paganism  as  the  more  limited  term,  and  for 
applying  it  to  the  lowest  forms  of  religion,  which 
have  neither  sacred  writings  nor  definite  system. 
107 


io8      Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


Gross  Vices 


A  Parallel 


ism  produces  debasing  conceptions  of  gods, 
men,  and  religion.  The  grossest  vices  and 
immoralities  are  enjoyed  equally  by  gods 
and  men,  and  are  in  conformity  with  Pagan 
religion.  Unwholesome  and  immoral  cus- 
toms are  thus  deeply  implanted  in  the  Af- 
rican social  system. 

Lying,  stealing,  polygamy,  slavery,  and 
promiscuous  living  have  the  countenance 
and  approbation  of  Pagan  religion.  Drunk- 
enness, gluttony,  every  form  of  licentious 
debauchery,  and  even  murder  are  features 
of  the  festivals  of  Pagan  religion.  The 
nnspeakable,  unthinkable  horrors  of  witch- 
craft, human  sacrifice,  burial  alive,  and  can- 
nibalism are  inextricably  intertwined  with 
Pagan  religion.  The  reflex  influence  is  in- 
evitably a  callousness  to  suffering  and  a 
fiendish  gloating  in  brutalities.  Heredity 
and  continued  practice  through  thousands 
of  years  have  steeped  the  people  in  inbred 
superstitions  and  animal  passions.  In- 
trenched ever  more  deeply,  the  accumulat- 
ing depravity  increases  from  generation  to 
generation  with  manifold  power. 

In   spite   of   the   200,000   churches   and 


"Pagan  is  now  more  properly  applied  to  rude  and  un- 
civilized idolaters,  while  heathen  embraces  all  who 
practice  idolatry."  Wehster's  International  Diction- 
ary. 


What  of  the  Night  ?  1 09 

151,000  ministers  in  the  United  States,^ 
whose  labors  are  supplemented  by  various 
Christian,  temperance,  and  other  moral 
agencies;  in  spite  of  449,000^  common 
school  teachers  and  25,000^  instructors  of 
higher  learning,  whose  uplifting  work  is 
supplemented  by  libraries  and  current  lit- 
erature; in  spite  of  a  vast  army  of  police, 
attorneys,  and  judges ;  in  spite  of  jails,  re- 
formatories, and  prisons  in  towns,  coun- 
ties, and  states ;  in  spite  of  all  these  uplift- 
ing forces  and  corrective  agencies,  America 
has  an  awful  array  of  drunkards  and  social 
outcasts,  assaults  and  robberies,  murders 
and  lynchings.  Imagine  what  would  be  the 
statistics  of  crime,  the  pandemonium  of 
sensuality,  violence,  and  bloodshed,  if  laws 
against  vice  were  changed  into  encourage- 
ment of  it ;  if  officers  of  the  law  were  wholly 
and  solely  abettors  of  crime;  if  reforma- 
tories were  sanctuaries  of  lawlessness;  if 
every  minister  were  a  priest  of  lust, 
preaching  it  as  a  cardinal  feature  of  his 
religion,  and  churches  were  brothels  wide 
open  day  and  night.  Imagine  tliis  if  you 
can,  and  you  are  but  beginning  to  appre- 
hend the  actual  state  of  affairs  in  Africa. 

Two  thirds   of  Africa's  population,   or  p*' ^n  *^* 


^  Social  Progress,  1905,  in  round  numbers. 


Continent 


no     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

90,000,000,  are  Pagan,  and  these  comprise 
nearly  two  thirds  of  the  Pagans  of  the 
world.  Africa  is  the  Pagan  continent.  Its 
peculiar  form  of  religion  has  existed  for 
untold  centuries.  To  show  the  African  that 
the  God  whom  he  ignorantly  feels  after  (out 
of  his  confusion  of  evil  spirits),  and  whom 
lie  supposes  to  be  malignant  or  indifferent, 
is  his  God,  loving  and  compassionate;  to 
reform  and  transform  his  heart,  are  fea- 
tures of  the  first  problem  which  confronts 
the  Christian  missionary  in  Africa. 

Mohammedanism,  although  less  formid- 
able, numerically,  than  Paganism,  is  a 
greater  problem  from  a  missionary  stand- 
point. It  is  a  religion  superior  to  Pagan- 
ism in  that  it  has  the  conception  of  one  God 
w^ho  is  interested  in  his  worshipers.^  This 
fact  gives  the  African  convert  to  Islam  a 
sense  of  dignity  and  importance  that  may 
well  account  for  the  marked  improvement 
in  demeanor  and  carriage  that  is  so  often 
noted  in  him.  Whether  conviction  or  fear 
is  the  motive,  confession  by  the  formula, 
^*God  is  one  God  and  Mohammed  is  his 
prophet,''  is  definite,  easily  grasped,  and 

*  Mohammedanism  began  almost  as  a  Christian  sect, 
its  founder  having  been  attracted  by  Jewish  and 
Christian  teachings.  Its  prophets  are  the  Bible  proph- 
ets, including  Christ,  with  Mohammed  as  the  greatest 
of  ail. 


"  Daybreai 


AFRICA-RELIGIONS 


What  of  the  Night  ?  1 1 1 

doubtless  often  attractive  to  those  who  are 
weary  of  ceaselessly  evading  multitudes  of 
malicious  gods. 

Conversion  to  Mohammedanism  may  or  Effect  upon 
may  not  improve  character.  In  the  African 
convert  there  is  a  new  cleanliness  of  person, 
neatness  of  clothing,  and  dignity  of  bear- 
ing. Witchcraft,  burial  alive,  human  sacri- 
fice, and  cannibalism  are  eliminated,  but 
the  heart  may,  and  usually  does,  remain  as 
unregenerate  as  ever.  The  superior  relig- 
ion grants  license  and  approval  to  the  more 
subtle  sins  of  greed  and  passion  that  prey 
upon  human  hearts — lying,  stealing,  intem- 
perance,^ enslaving,  the  social  vice,  and 
murder.  The  promise  of  immoral  life  in 
paradise  is  the  acme  of  the  Koran's  incen- 
tive to  the  faithful.  This  higher  sanction  of 
his  animal  nature  increases  the  self-esteem 
of  the  African  Moslem  and  fortifies  him 
against  improvement. 

^^You  must  not  wear  our  clothes, ''  said  Moslem  Moraia 
a   Moslem   to    a    European.     ''They    are 
given  to  us  by  God  to  set  forth  the  char- 
acter of  our  religion ;  and  he  has  given  you 

^  From  the  fact  that  the  Koran  teaches  temperance 
the  inference  is  sometimes  drawn  that  all  Moham- 
medans are  total  abstainers.  But  such  unimpeachable 
authorities  as  James  Richardson,  Canon  Robinson, 
Captain  Lugard,  and  Slatin  Pasha  testify  to  the  free 
indulgence  in  intoxicants  by  many  African  Moslems. 


Moslem  Assim- 
ilation 


112     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

Europeans  your  clotiies  to  set  forth  the 
character  of  your  religion.  You  see  these 
garments  of  ours,  how  wide  and  how  flow- 
ing they  are;  our  sleeves  are  loose,  and 
we  have  easy-fitting  slippers.  As  our 
clothes  are  wide,  so  is  our  religion ;  we  can 
steal,  tell  lies,  deceive  each  other,  commit 
adultery,  and  do  all  manner  of  iniquity  just 
as  we  wish ;  and  at  the  last  day  our  prophet 
Mohammed  will  make  it  all  right  for  us. 
But  you  poor  Europeans !  You  have  tight- 
iitting  trousers,  tight-fitting  waistcoats, 
and  tight-fitting  jackets.  Your  clothes  are 
just  like  your  religion — narrow.  If  you 
steal,  cheat,  deceive,  or  tell  lies,  you 
stand  in  constant  fear  of  condemnation  of 
God."^ 

Moslems — Arabs  or  Africans — readily 
assimilate  with  Pagan  Africans,  adopting 
their  kinds  of  food  and  mode  of  living,  and 
intermarry  with  them.  Thirteen  centuries 
— forty  generations — of  continuous  Afri- 
can heredity  have  made  Islamism  native 
to  the  continent.  This  fact  is  of  tremen- 
dous moment.  The  foreign  Christian  mis- 
sionary must  always  remain  a  foreigner. 
Add  to  this  the  numerical  strength  of  Mo- 
hammedans in  Africa — 50,000,000 — and  the 

^  Quoted  by  A.  P.  Atterbury  in  Islam  in  Africa. 


What  of  the  Night?  113 

problem  looms  up  with  gigantic  propor- 
tions. 

Possibly  most  important  of  all  the  fea-  ^^|^reL«tvene«« 
tures  of  the  problem  presented  by  Islam- 
ism  is  its  organized  aggressiveness.  Islam« 
ism  in  the  Sudan,  its  African  stronghold^ 
is  a  growing  and  virile  force.  The  Moham- 
medan Sudanese,  within  the  past  century, 
are  credited  with  having  produced  one  of 
the  greatest  outbreaks  of  missionary  zeal 
in  human  history.  Moslem  missionaries  are 
moving  out  upon  Central  Africa  with  their 
easy-going  morals,  and  stimulating  new 
converts  with  an  intolerant  and  almost  im- 
pregnable bigotry. 

The  Moslem  '* university"  at  Cairo,  ^t^'^,? ^^fj^"" 
teaching  in  the  twentieth  century  the  Ptole-  of  isiam 
maic  system  of  the  universe — the  earth 
at  the  center  of  the  solar  system,  around 
which  the  sun  and  stars  revolve — is  a  type 
of  Islam.  To  come  in  touch  with  obsolete 
arts  and  sciences  of  civilization  may 
mentally  stimulate  Pagan  hordes  in  a 
slight  degree;  but,  on  the  whole,  though 
Islam  lifts  the  African  socially  and  com- 
mercially a  great  deal,  intellectually  and 
morally  it  does  little  for  him.  The  pliant 
Pagan  becomes  the  fanatical  Moslem.  Ob- 
stinate ignorance  and  immorality  are  es- 


114     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


Specific   Prob- 
lems 


Polygamy 


tablislied  more  firmly  than  ever  in  his  un- 
regenerated  heart.  It  is  a  most  urgent  ne- 
cessity that  Christianity  outstrip  Islam  in 
the  conversion  of  Pagan  Africa.  Once  con- 
verted to  Islam,  the  difficulty  of  winning 
the  African  to  a  higher  civilization  is  im- 
measurably increased. 

Many  specific  problems  for  Christian 
missions  are  included  in  and  implied  by  Pa- 
ganism and  Mohammedanism.  With  but 
few  exceptions  the  problems  are  much  the 
same  in  both  religions.  For  example,  it  is 
often  very  difficult  for  a  genuine  convert 
to  understand  the  Christian  attitude  to- 
ward polygamy  and  slavery,  two  institu- 
tions deeply  rooted  in  the  social  life  of  both 
Pagan  and  Moslem. 

Polygamy  is  a  serious  problem  to  the 
advance  of  Christianity  in  Africa.  Physi- 
cians and  missionaries  of  long  residence 
among  African  tribes  say  that  one  of  the 
greatest  social  and  moral  evils  of  Africa  is 
polygamy.^  It  originates  and  is  fostered 
in  lust,  greed,  and  indolence.  It  cannot, 
therefore,  be  permitted  among  Christians 
of  good  standing.  But  custom  is  prac- 
tically a  god  to  the  African.    To  him  one 


^W.  A.  Elmslie,  M.D.,  of  tlie  Livingstonia  Mission: 
S.  P.  Verner,  of  the  Kassai  Mission;  and  others. 


What  of  the  Night  ?  115 

of  the  strongest  reasons  that  a  thing  should 
be  is  that  it  has  been.  So  the  battle  is  not 
wholly  won  if  he  is  convinced  that  a  thing 
is  morally  wrong.  Practical  obstacles  also 
arise.  Often  a  convert  cannot  dispose  of 
his  wives  at  once  without  great  injustice, 
real  or  apparent,  to  them  or  to  their  chil- 
dren. There  are  certain  native  laws  which 
Christianity  recognizes  as  just,  preventing 
the  patting  away  of  a  wife  for  other  than 
serious  moral  offenses.  A  plural  wife,  if 
converted,  cannot  always  easily  obtain 
freedom  from  her  husband.  Indeed,  the 
necessity  of  giving  up  polygamy  if  they  be- 
come Christians  appears  to  be  a  greater  ob- 
stacle to  women  than  to  men.  Missionaries 
have  often  found  the  women  the  most  stren- 
uous advocates  of  the  custom.  There  is, 
however,  a  steadfastness  among  African 
women  who  have  become  Christians. 

An  incident  illustrative  of  the  difficulty  Tiie  problem 

.  _  of   PolyR-amy 

which  confronts  a  native  polygamist  11  he  illustrated 
would  become  a  convert  to  Christianity  has 
recently  been  given  by  a  missionary  of  the 
Paris  Society.^  A  chief  of  the  Batlokwa 
in  South  Africa  accompanied  one  of  his 
wives  to  the  mission.     Said  he,  "I  bring 

'Barthelemy   Pascal,    in   Missionary   Review,   May, 
1905. 


Domestic 
Slavery 


1 16     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

my  wife  to  you  that  you  may  receive  her 
into  the  class.  She  thirsts  for  God.'' 
When  Kathokan  was  asked  why  he  too  did 
not  come,  he  answered :  "It  is  a  good  road, 
but  it  is  narrow.  I  cannot  get  through  with 
my  six  wives,  and  I  cannot  separate  from 
them.  Oh!  I  know  God  will  give  me 
strength  if  I  ask  him,  because  he  answers. 
You  know  what  a  hea^^  drinker  I  was.  I 
asked  God  to  give  me  strength  to  give  up 
beer.  He  heard  my  prayer,  and  since  then 
I  have  not  drunk.  You  see  he  hears,  and 
because  I  do  not  want  to  leave  my  six  wives 
I  do  not  like  to  talk  to  him  about  it." 
Kathokan,  still  out  of  the  narrow  road, 
died  in  1900.  The  pathos  of  the  story  is 
increased  with  the  knowledge  that  Ma- 
Nhalla,  the  wife  who  went  to  the  mission, 
and  who  became  a  consistent  Christian,  had 
been  taught  by  her  husband,  the  chief,  to 
pray.  He  also  had  given  her  instruction  in 
the  catechism.  He  had  learned  to  pray  and 
to  read  in  his  younger  days.  Thus  had  he 
helped  to  create  in  her  the"  thirst  for  God. ' ' 
Domestic  slavery^  is  so  closely  related  to 

^It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  is  a  distinc- 
tion between  domestic  slavery  and  the  foreign  slave 
trade.  The  former  relates  wholly  to  the  native  insti- 
tution, which  is  a  comparatively  mild  form  of  servi- 
tude, the  latter  to  the  iniquitous  foreign  traffic  in 
human  beings. 


What  of  the  Night  ?  117 

polygamy  that  wives  are  often  selected 
from  favorite  slaves.  Advocates  of  slav- 
ery and  polygamy  would  have  about 
equally  difficult  tasks  in  justifying  them- 
selves before  the  Christian  conscience  of 
America  and  Europe.  In  Africa,  on  the 
contrary,  one  custom  is  about  as  deeply 
rooted  in  the  social  system  as  the  other. 
The  problem  is  much  the  same :  first,  how 
to  create  a  conscience  and  sentiment 
against  the  practice;  and  second,  how  to 
find  ways  and  means  of  gradually  abolish- 
ing the  time-honored  custom  without  se- 
rious shock  to  the  social  system.  It  can 
scarcely  be  appreciated  in  a  Christian  land 
of  to-day  how  thoroughly  an  African  com- 
munity is  dependent  upon  domestic  slavery. 
From  a  private  individual  to  the  chief  or 
king,  from  the  family  to  the  tribe  or  na- 
tion, the  whole  social  life  is  built  upon  slav- 
ery. Even  slaves  own  slaves.  This  second 
class  of  slaves  may  own  others.  Slaves  are 
the  labor-saving  device  of  Africa.  They  are 
the  carriers  of  trade.  They  are  currency. 
Anything  that  touches  slavery  affects  the 
entire  community,  and  the  African  is  very 
conservative  in  changing  his  customs. 

The  problem  presented  by  domestic  slav-  o^Do^estuT* 
ery  may  be  illustrated  by  an  incident  which  sia^^ry  iii««- 


1 1 8     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

occurred  in  connection  with  Bishop  Hartz- 
ell's  work  in  Angola.  One  of  his  native 
preachers,  a  man  of  extraordinary  endow- 
ments, some  time  after  entering  the  bish- 
op's force  of  workers  took  a  girl  as  a  slave. 
He  and  his  wife  argued  that  they  treated 
her  well,  that  she  was  more  than  contented, 
that  she  was  far  better  off  with  them  than 
to  be  the  slave,  as  she  would  have  been,  of 
others.  Back  of  it  all  was  the  argument 
that  slavery  was  right.  It  was  the  way 
God  had  provided  for  the  care  of  a  certain 
portion  of  humanity.  It  was  only  after  a 
protracted  interview  with  the  bishop  that 
they  were  convinced  of  the  wrong  of 
slavery,  and  joyfully  freed  the  girl,  though 
retaining  her  in  the  family  as  a  paid  do- 
mestic. 
^^g^^gcJ*^  The  diversity  of  African  languages  is 
another  obstacle  to  be  overcome.  The  ex- 
istence of  600  languages  and  dialects, 
all,  before  the  advent  of  the  missionary, 
without  written  form  and  alphabet,  in- 
dicates some  measure  of  the  problem. 
Different  dialects  must  be  mastered  for 
effective  work  in  neighboring  districts. 
Grammars,  dictionaries,  text-books,  and 
Bible  and  other  literature  translation 
which  with  great  pains  have  been  prepared 


What  of  the  Night  ?  119 

for  one  people  may  be  nearly  useless  in 
work  among  peoples  not  far  distant.  It  is 
a  serious  handicap  to  the  rapid  progress 
of  the  gospel  that  all  the  language  work  in 
one  section  cannot  be  used  in  many  others, 
not  to  say  every  section  of  the  continent. 

The  climate  of  Africa  is  a  serious  prob-  ciimate 
lem.  Notwithstanding  the  healthfulness  of 
the  extreme  north  and  south,  and  sections 
of  the  high  interior,  there  is  the  fact  that 
for  Europeans  and  Americans  Africa  pre- 
sents the  most  trying  climate  of  any  of  the 
continents.  The  scourge  of  Africa  is  not 
a  peculiar  disease.  Malarial  fever  is  known 
the  world  over,  but  in  Africa  it  is  more 
prevalent  and  virulent  than  is  usual  in 
other  parts  of  the  world.  The  low,  marshy 
coast  lands,  with  their  dense  forests  and 
moist,  malaria-laden  air,  are  particularly 
unhealthful.  Since  their  occupation  by 
the  white  man  the  death  rate  has  been  ap- 
palling. Even  natives  do  not  escape  the 
ravages  of  the  African  fever.  Indeed,  some 
claim  that  the  white  man  will  outlive  the 
African  on  his  native  soil. 

Serious  handicaps    to    the    advance  of  The  white 
Christianity  in  Africa  originate  from  the 
contact  of  the  natives  with  unscrupulous 
traders  and  officials  from  Christian  lands. 


120     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

Thus  civilization  itself,  especially  if  it  pre- 
cedes Christian  missions,  becomes  a  most 
serious  problem.  It  is  a  shock  to  the  self- 
complacency  of  the  white  man  to  reflect 
that  millions  of  the  world's  population  are 
threatened  with  a  white  peril  that  is  very 
real  and  potent.  ^'Christian  civilization 
without  Christ"  is  worse  than  Paganism. 
"The  state  of  morals  among  some  Euro- 
peans is  scarcely  whisperable.  It  is  awful, 
the  amount  of  corruption  and  filth  intro- 
duced by  them."  It  is  comparatively  easy 
to  convert  primitive  Africans  to  Christi- 
anity, and  to  establish  them  against  the 
later  introduction  of  the  vices  of  civiliza- 
tion. It  is  supremely  difficult  to  Christian- 
ize them  after  they  have  become  viciously 
civilized.  This  has  long  been  true  in  coast 
regions,  and  it  is  increasingly  true  in  the 
interior  as  railroads  and  commerce  intro- 
duce coast  civilization.  The  natives  of  East 
Africa  between  Uganda  and  the  coast  fur- 
nish an  illustration.  Missionaries  on  their 
way  to  the  interior  field  for  years  have 
been  obliged  to  pass  through  the  territory 
of  susceptible  tribes.  One  who  is  in  a  posi- 
tion to  have  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
present  situation  in  this  region  says  that 
already  there  has  been  a  "serious  deteri- 


What  of  the  Night  ?  121 

oration,"  and  that  Christian  work  among 
these  same  tribes  will  now  be  far  more  dif- 
ficult than  it  would  have  been  a  few  years 
ago/ 

The  partition  of  the  continent  among  the  Foreign  gov- 

^  ^  erniueut 

great  Powers  of  Europe  has  already  be- 
stowed many  blessings  upon  the  African — 
the  warrant  of  stable  government,  the  sup- 
pression of  native  wars,  the  prohibition  of 
savage  customs,  the  insurance  of  regular 
trade — but  it  also  has  brought  the  menace 
of  plunder  by  stronger  foreigners,  and, 
where  unscrupulous  officials  control,  of 
slaughter  upon  slight  or  no  offense.  For  in- 
stance, the  Congo  Free  State  was  originally 
organized  under  the  guardianship  of  the 
King  of  Belgium  with  the  avowed  purpose 
^'not  to  create  a  Belgian  province,  but  to 
establish  a  powerful  Negro  state.''  What- 
ever the  original  intention  of  King  Leo- 
pold, the  persistent  practice  of  the  Belgian 
administration  of  the  Congo  Free  State  has 
repudiated  every  fair  promise  and  made 
the  '^ Congo  Slave  State"-  a  more  fitting 
title.  Instead  of  developing  a  powerful 
Negro  state,  Belgium  has  occupied  the 
Congo  basin  in  force  and  reduced  the  in- 

^  J.  J.  Willis  in  Missionary/  Review,  March,  1905. 
2  E.  D.  Morel,  Editor  of  the  West  Africa  Mail. 


122     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

habitants  to  a  worse  slavery  than  they  ever 
knew  before  the  coming  of  the  white  man. 
The  land  has  been  robbed  of  its  rubber  by 
a  system  of  terrorism.  A  given  amount  of 
rubber  is  demanded  of  a  district,  and  if  for 
any  reason,  such  as  death  or  pestilence  in 
a  tribe,  the  amount  is  not  forthcoming,  mu- 
tilation and  often  wholesale  slaughter  is 
resorted  to  as  an  example  to  future  delin- 
quents. It  is  also  thought  by  many  that 
the  prolonged  rebellion  of  the  natives  (1903 
and  following  years)  in  German  Southwest 
Africa  was  an  outgrowth  of  over-rigorous 
if  not  unjust  treatment.  Naturally,  mis- 
sionary work  is  greatly  hindered  under 
such  conditions,  for  the  missionary  is 
classed  with  the  foreign  persecutors. 
The  Portuguese  often  seriously  obstruct 
*»«''  mission  work  by  their  method  of  army  con- 

scription. Sometimes  all  the  young  men 
of  a  mission  school  are  forced  into  govern- 
ment service,  and  the  results  of  years  of 
training  are  thus  greatly  impaired.  The 
Portuguese  also  carry  on  the  slave  trade 
under  the  form  of  contract  labor.  Natives, 
collected  from  the  interior  in  large  num- 
bers by  means  of  the  fair  promises  of  plant- 
ers'  agents,  enter  into  labor  contracts  for 
periods  of  seven  to  ten  years.    In  reality 


Portuguese 
Admlnlstra- 


What  of  the  Night  ?  123 

they  sell  themselves  into  slavery  for  life. 
Once  in  the  toils  of  an  unprincipled  slave 
driver  there  is  little  hope  for  them.  Many 
are  thus  shipped  as  ''colonials'^  to  the  isl- 
ands of  San  Thome  and  Principe  to  work 
plantations,  and  few  ever  return.  "They 
die  very  soon."  The  system  is  so  "regu- 
lar" that  no  other  government  interferes, 
but  it  is,  nevertheless,  the  same  diabolical 
system  that  civilization  abhors. 

The  foreign  slave  trade,  as  blasting  to  The  Foreigrn 
life  and  morals  as  any  Pagan  institution 
could  ever  be,  is  now  limited  to  the  Arab 
traffic.  Until  very  recently,  at  least,  Arab 
traders,  who  were  also  good  Mohamme- 
dans, plied  their  inhuman  business  at  the 
very  heart  of  the  continent.  That  it  is  still 
carried  on  is  more  than  probable,  but  to 
what  extent  is  unknown.  In  the  Sudan,  for 
instance,  weak  tribes  are  preyed  upon  by 
stronger  ones  under  the  cloak  of  putting 
down  uprisings  among  subject  peoples. 
The  foreign  Powers  need  continually  to  be 
on  guard  against  such  lawlessness.  Mo- 
hammedan outlets  in  both  North  and  East 
Africa  make  detection  somewhat  difficult. 

Even  where  governments  are  kindly  dis-  JJon'^^^^nst 
posed  toward  the  native,  they  sometimes  christian 

.  ,       .       .  Missions 

are  unsympathetic  toward  Christian  mis- 


1 24     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

sions.  The  British  flag  has  been  of  untold 
benefit  to  Christian  missions.  Yet  Brit- 
ish policy  prohibits  Christian  missions  to 
Moslems  at  Khartum/  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Koran  is  one  of  the  text-books  (the 
Bible  being  excluded)  in  Gordon  College, 
Khartum,  which  was  founded  by  Christian 
gifts  in  memory  of  a  great  Christian  hero. 
The  ringing  of  church  bells  in  the  Blantyre 
district  is  prohibited,  that  the  Moslems  may 
not  be  disturbed!^  The  British  Central 
Africa  government  requires  an  application 
from  Christian  missionaries  for  the  privi- 
lege of  erecting  mission  school  buildings, 
which  means  that  the  privilege  may  be 
denied.  No  such  requirement  is  made 
of  Mohammedan  missionaries.  The  work 
among  the  Zulus  finds  serious  obstruction 
from  the  British  government.  Native  pas- 
tors are  prohibited  from  performing  the 
marriage  ceremony,  and  heavy  taxes  upon 
the  natives  practically  make  self-support- 
ing churches  impossible.^  It  should,  of 
course,  be  borne  in  mind  that  Great  Britain 
has  had  many  grievous  experiences  in  deal- 
ing with  Mohammedans,  particularly  in  In- 

^  Charles  R.  Watson,  "Missionary  Conditions  in  the 
Egyptian  Sudan,"  Missionary  Review,  February,  1905. 

2  Dr.  W.  A.  Elmslie,  of  Livingstonia  Mission,  in  con- 
versation with  author. 

*  Missionary  Review,  May,  1905. 


What  of  the  Night?  125 

dia,  and  government  officials,  who  know- 
how  easy  it  is  to  fan  Mohammedan  zeal 
into  a  flame  of  rebellion,  are  slow  to  do 
anything  to  alienate  these  fanatical  people. 
The  problem  from  a  government  stand- 
point is  a  serious  one,  but  the  fact  remains 
that  the  Christian  missionaries  are  handi- 
capped by  conditions  as  they  now  exist. 

One  traveling  in  Africa  mav  meet  scores  Trade  and 

^  "  Government 

of  traders  and  government  officials,  and  Poucy 
find  that,  with  but  few  exceptions,  the  more 
notable  and  conspicuous  because  so  few,  ^ 
they  conform  to  the  confession  of  one, 
more  frank  than  the  rest :  ^ '  Oh,  I  leave  my 
conscience  at  home  when  I  come  to  the 
Coast/'  Such  a  moral  standard  indicates 
the  odds  against  which  the  splendidly 
equipped  and  heroic  missionaries  have  con- 
stantly labored.  In  Madagascar  the  loose 
morals  and  worldly  life  of  European  trad- 
ers and  government  officials  are  leading 
many  natives  into  the  infidelity  which  the 
foreigners  profess. 

Perhaps  nothing  furnishes  a  better  and  i^**»«®'  Traffic 
more  deplorable  illustration  of  the  state  of 
affairs  than  the  African  liquor  trade.  Not 
only  frequently,  but  well-nigh  invariably, 
the  ship  that  bears  one  or  two  missionaries 
to  convert  the  African  carries  also  thou- 


126     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

sands  of  gallons  of  rum  to  damn  him.  ^ '  The 
Roquelle  was  loaded  to  its  utmost  capacity 
with  the  usual  cargoes  for  the  African 
trade.  A  heavy  charge  of  rum  was  a  con- 
spicuous item.  This  came  principally  from 
Boston,  whose  rum  and  religion  constitute 
a  puzzle  which  Africans  and  philanthro- 
pists have  tried  in  vain  to  solve.  When  I 
was  introduced  to  the  black  Ashantis,  they 
were  informed  that  I  was  an  American. 
*Ah,  Melican  man,  eh!^  said  the  chief,  *MeI- 
ican  lum  plenty  good,  you  got  Melican 
lum?'  This  was  all  he  knew  of  America. 
I  could  not  elicit  anything  more  about  my 
country  from  him  than  this  testimony  to 
the  far-reaching  influence  of  New  England 
culture.  ^  '^  During  a  recent  period  of  four 
years  30,000,000  of  gallons=^  of  strong  drink 
were  shipped  from  Europe  and  America 
to  help  in  the  work  of  civilizing  Africa! 
Missionaries  assert  that  their  worst  enemy 
is  not  witchcraft,  native  depravity,  licen- 
tiousness, nor  race-old  superstitions,  but 
rum  from  their  own  Christian  land.  One 
expresses  the  general  conviction,  "I  would 
rather  face  heathenism  in  any  other  form 
than  the  liquor  traffic  in  Africa.''' 

*S.  p.  Verner,  Pioneering  in  Central  Africa. 
'A.  S.  White,  Development  of  Africa. 
"Agnes  McAllister,  of  Garraway,  Liberia. 


What  of  the  Night  ?  127 

Native  religions,  instead  of  discourag-  gfon^^E^t"" 
ing,  encourage  the  use  of  liquor.  Drunk-  oiYf^or^** 
enness  is  a  common  part  of  religious  festi- 
vals, and  is  considered  the  result  of  pos- 
session by  the  spirit  or  god  of  the 
drink.  The  powerful  liquors  from  civilized 
lands  not  only  utterly  demoralize  the  na- 
tives, frequently  to  the  extent  of  depopu- 
lating whole  districts,  but  reinforce  native 
religions  and  superstitions  against  Chris- 
tian appeal. 

White  graphically  epitomizes  the  de-  ^  compari.on 
plorable  situation:  "Islam,  or  Arab  in- 
fluence, advances  with  the  sword  in  one 
hand  and  the  Koran  in  the  other — as  it 
appears  to  us.  Christianity,  or  European 
influence,  advances  with  the  sword  or  pa- 
per treaties  in  one  hand,  and  the  Bible  or 
a  case  of  gin  in  the  other — as  it  appears  to 
the  native  mind.  It  is  no  use  quarreling 
with  the  comparison.  It  is  a  just  and  faith- 
ful one."^ 

The  appeal  of  Molique,  King  of  Nupe,  ^ppeail 
to  Bishop  Crowther,  is  as  full  of  judgment 
against  civilization  as  of  pathos  for  the 
African.  "Barasa  (rumor  gin)  has  ruined 
our  country.  It  has  ruined  our  people  very 
much.     It  has  made  our  people  mad.     I 

^  A.  S.  White,  Development  of  Africa. 


128     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

agree  to  everything  for  trade  except  ba- 
rasa.  We  heg  Crowther,  the  great  Chris- 
tian minister,  to  beg  the  great  priests  to 
BEG  the  English  queen  to  prevent  bring- 
ing barasa  into  this  land.  For  God's  sake 
he  must  help  us  in  this  matter.  He  must 
not  leave  us  to  become  spoiled.''^ 

Another  African  prince,  writing  for  the 
Century  Magazine,  April,  1905,  says:  '^I 
can  prove  from  my  own  knowledge  that  all 
the  wars  that  have  been  fought  by  my  tribe 
since  the  advent  of  civilization  have  been 
brought  on  by  rash  action  on  the  part  of 
drinking  men.  If  we  have  not  advanced 
higher  in  the  scale  of  civilization,  neither 
had  we  (I  speak  again  for  my  own  people), 
until  this  fatal  liquor  was  forced  upon  us, 
fallen  so  low  as  many.  We  need  but  an  hon- 
est helping  hand  to  raise  us  to  as  high  a 
state  of  culture  as  was  possessed  by  most 
of  the  dark  races  at  a  time  when  the  West- 
ern Continent  was  still  in  the  gloom  of  bar- 
barism. 

*'If  the  present  policy  continues,  we  can- 
not fight  as  men  should  against  the  wrong. 
The  poison  is  fast  doing  its  deadly  work, 
and  in  a  few  years  there  will  be  none  of  us 

'  Jesse  Page,  Samuel  Crowther,  (adapted)  from 
message  of  Molique,  Emir  of  Niipe. 


What  of  the  Night?  129 

left  to  resist  the  oppressors.  But  our  blood 
will  be  on  their  heads,  and  will  cry  to 
Heaven  for  vengeance. 

'^Even  if  foreign  Powers  should  for  a 
time  be  financial  losers,  they  can  not  even- 
tually be  anything  but  gainers — aided  by 
a  country  almost  unlimited  in  its  capabili- 
ties, and  the  willing,  grateful  service  of 
forty  millions  of  people  rescued  from  the 
moral  as  well  as  physical  death  now  staring 
them  in  the  face. 

''All  will  be  with  them  in  this  crusade; 
leaders  and  people  alike  are  stretching  out 
their  hands  for  aid.  We  appeal,  not  to  Eng- 
land, not  to  France,  not  to  Germany,  not  to 
other  empires  and  states,  but  to  the  con- 
sciences of  the  individual  men  forming  such 
nations.  We  appeal,  not  for  a  gift  or  favor, 
but  for  our  right.  Even  as  the  Americans 
appealed  for  their  rights  and  obtained  them 
by  heroic  measures,  so  do  we  claim  the  right 
for  'freedom  to  worship  God,'  and  to  wor- 
ship Him  by  sobriety,  industry,  good-will, 
and  all  the  Christian  graces."^ 

The  race  problem,  in  its  many  phases,  »«««  problem 
is    another   serious   obstacle   to   Christian 

^  Momolu  Massaquai,  Prince  of  the  Veis,  Sierra 
Leone.  He  was  educated  at  Tennessee  College  and 
was  one  of  the  speakers  at  the  World's  Parliament  of 
Religions,  Chicago,  1893. 


130     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

missions.  The  white  man — trader  and  gov- 
ernment official — wants  the  black  man,  but 
wants  him  only  as  his  menial.  Wages  are 
given  him,  but  for  those  wages  he  is  ex- 
pected to  ''keep  his  place"  with  the  lower 
order  of  animals.  At  least  one  high 
official  of  a  South  African  company 
can  be  cited,  who  openly  boasts  of  his 
^'boys"  being  slaves.  He  feeds  them, 
clothes  them,  and  beats  them,  as  he  deems 
they  severally  need.  Another  man  makes 
the  proposal  that  saloons  be  established  in 
connection  with  factories  and  mines,  so 
that  the  native  will  work  to  earn  money 
to  buy  liquor.  Aware  of  the  frightful 
havoc  which  strong  drink  makes  with  the 
African,  one  can  appreciate  the  heartless- 
ness  of  this  proposition.  Employers  of 
the  type  suggested,  and  there  are  too 
many  of  them,  do  not  favor  evangelizing 
and  educating  the  African.  Teach  him 
menial  labor,  but  not  a  letter  of  the  alpha- 
bet, is  their  sentiment.  There  are  noble 
exceptions.  For  example,  the  British  Cen- 
tral Africa  government  so  appreciates 
the  services  of  the  Livingstonia  Mission 
that  a  premium  is  given  for  each  graduate 
from  that  institution.  Some  employers 
dismiss  summarily  all  propositions  to  util- 


INDUSTRIAL    MISSIONS 

CARPENTER'S    APPRENTICE,     EAST    AFRICA 
SMALL    BOYS    CLEANING    PATH,    CONGO    COUNTRY 


What  of  the  Night  ?  131 

ize  African  labor.  They  say,  ''The  Kaffir 
is  too  lazy  to  work,  the  Zulu  too  proud,'' 
and  forthwith  add  confusion  to  the  race 
c[uestion  by  bidding  for  cheap  foreign  la- 
bor. It  is  estimated  that  there  are  300,000 
Indian  and  possibly  25,000  Chinese  coolies 
in  South  Africa  and  on  the  East  Coast.* 
They  take  the  place  of  the  African  in  work 
which  would  develop  him.  His  progress 
is  retarded,  and  the  missionary  problem 
is  rendered  vastly  more  trying. 

The    harsh    discrimination    of    whites  Etiiiopian 

Movement 

against  blacks  inevitably  stimulates  retali- 
ating measures.  In  recent  years  this  an- 
tagonism on  the  part  of  the  blacks  has 
taken  the  form,  in  South  Africa,  of  de- 
manding church  government  independent 
of  white  influence.  ''Africa  for  the  Afri- 
cans" is  the  motto  of  the  "Ethiopian 
Movement, ' '  as  it  is  called.  The  movement 
is  prejudicial;  through  it  the  African 
strikes  at  the  missionaries  (and  the 
churches  back  of  them),  the  one  class  of 
foreigners  upon  whom  he  can  depend  for 
fair  treatment  and  the  highest  service. 

An    illustration    of    the    serious    conse-  violence  En- 

g^endered 

quences   that   are  natural   outgrowths   of 

'  These  estimates  are  confirmed  by  the  Blue  Book  of 
Missions,  1905. 


132     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

the  Ethiopian  Movement  is  furnished  in 
the  native  insurrection  (1903  and  follow- 
ing years)  in  German  Southwest  Africa. 
Henry  Witboi,  a  leader  of  the  uprising,  had 
been  one  of  the  trusted  native  converts 
under  the  Ehenish  Missionary  Society.  But 
he  became  possessed  of  the  delusion  that 
the  Ethiopian  Movement  was  the  means 
by  which  God  would  free  the  blacks  from 
white  control.  One  of  his  first  acts  was  to 
have  Mr.  Holzapfel,  a  lay  missionary,  shot, 
because  the  latter  refused  to  deliver  to  the 
insurgents  the  powder  and  ammunition  in 
his  charge.^  The  Ethiopian  Movement  em- 
bitters the  native,  intensifies  the  race  prob- 
lem, and  threatens  to  extend  northward 
from  South  Africa. 

Roman  Catholic  opposition  to  Protestant 
Opposition  missions,  wherever,  with  but  few  honor- 
able exceptions,  the  two  types  of  Chris- 
tianity meet  in  the  foreign  field,  is  by  no 
means  the  least  of  the  Protestant  mission 
problems  in  Africa.  The  Lutheran  pio- 
neers in  1632,  and  Krapf  over  200  years 
later,  were  expelled  from  Abyssinia 
through  Jesuit  intrigues.  Mackay,  splen- 
did in  heroism  and  disinterested  devotion, 
was  maligned,  antagonized,  and  seriously 

^  Missionary  Review,  April,  1905. 


Roman 
Catholic 


What  of  the  Night?  133 

handicapped  by  Roman  missionaries  while 
endeavoring  to  win  Uganda  to  Christ. 
These  are  but  representative  instances. 
Facts  will  bear  out  the  statement  that 
wherever  a  Roman  Catholic  government 
environment,  Portuguese,  Spanish,  or 
French,  dominates  African  territory,  there 
Protestant  missionaries  may  expect  un- 
scrupulous treatment  from  some,  if  not  all, 
Roman  Catholic  officials  and  missionaries. 
Within  the  past  few  years  incidents  have 
occurred  in  the  Inhambane  district,  East 
Africa,  Angola,  West  Africa,  the  Madeira 
Islands,  and  elsewhere,  that  reveal  the 
same  spirit  of  intolerance  that  animated 
the  Inquisition  and  Saint  Bartholomew's 
massacre,  and  that  has  made  South  Amer- 
ica and  the  Philippines  what  they  are.  In 
1896,  after  the  French  conquest  of  Mada- 
gascar, native  Christians  were  persecuted. 
Romanists  took  possession  of  Protestant 
church  and  school  property,  and  were  pro- 
tected in  their  violence  by  the  French  gov- 
ernment. When  the  victims  resisted  this 
confiscation  of  their  property,  they  were 
imprisoned  and  tortured,  and  in  many  cases 
murdered.  ''Evidence  is  to  be  found  in 
the  devastated  mission  stations,  in  the 
scarred   and   broken   Protestant   teachers 


134     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

and  evangelists  of  Madagascar,  and  in  the 
testimonies  of  British  missionaries  whose 
word  is  beyond  doubt. ''^  The  papal  bull 
directed  against  the  Protestant  mission- 
aries on  the  Congo  in  the  late  seventies 
and  early  eighties  shows  plainly  where 
Eoman  persecutions  originate : ' '  The  move- 
ments of  the  heretics  are  to  be  followed 
up,  and  their  efforts  harassed  and  de- 
stroyed. '  '^ 


QUESTIONS   FOR   CHAPTER   IV. 

Aim:    To  Study  Africa's  Claim  on  Christendom  in 

View  of  Her  Needs. 

I ..  .Non-moral  needs. 

1  In  what  ways  is  the  diversity  of  languages  a  hin- 

drance to  missions? 

2  How  does  Africa  compare  in  healthfulness  with 

other  continents? 

3  Does  this  prevent  traders  and  government  officials 

from  settling  all  over  the  country? 

4  Is  the  death  rate  likely  to  increase  or  diminish? 

Why? 

l\. .  .Needs  existing  Ijefore  the  entrance  of  Christen- 
dom. 

5  Is  there  any  other  such  mass  of  population  on 

the  earth's  surface  whose  religion   is   such  a 
curse  to  them? 


^  The  French  Protestants  assisted  greatly  in  saving 
evangelical  Christianity  in  Madagascar.  In  two  years' 
time  they  added  twenty-two  missionaries  to  their 
forces.  T.  T.  Matthews,  Thirty  Years  in  Madagascar. 
.    ^'W.  Holman  Bentley,  Pioneering  on  the  Congo. 


What  of  the  Night  ?  135 


6*  What  manifestations  of  African  religion  are 
more  cruel  than  anything  you  know  of  in  India 
or  China? 

7  What  are  the  chances  for  developing  noble  char- 

acter in  such  an  atmosphere? 

8  If  you  were  a  converted  African,  what  would  be 

your  gratitude  to  those  who  had  brought  you 
the  gospel? 
9*  How  should  we  have  to  change  the  Christian  in- 
stitutions of  America  to  make  our  surroundings 
like  those  of  the  African? 

10  In  what  ways  does  Islam  benefit  the  African! 

11  What  does  it  fail  to  do  for  him? 

12  What  is  the  attitude  of  the  Moslem  towards  polyg- 

amy and  slavery? 

13  What  advantages  has  Islam  over  Christianity  in 

winning  the  African? 

14  How  does  it  affect  the  ease  with  which  he  is  con- 

verted to  Christianity? 
15*  What  are  some  of  the  evils  of  polygamy? 
10     Why   should   you   object   to  your   father  having 

several  wives? 
17     What  are  some  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of 

giving  up  polygamy? 
18*  If  a  Christian  African  had  several  wives,  all  of 

whom  had  children,  what  should  you  tell  him 

to  do  with  them? 

19  Why  is  slavery  wrong? 

20  How  could  an  African  argue  in  favor  of  slavery? 

21  Is  there  anything  but  Christianity  that  can  meet 

this  class  of  needs? 

III... Needs   created   hy   contact   with    Christendom. 

22  What  is  the  effect  of  non-Christian  civilization  on 

the  African? 

23  How  should  you  feel  towards  Buddhism  if  all  the 

Buddhists  you  had   ever  met  were  cruel,   im- 
moral, and  unjust? 


136     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

24  How  do  the  lives  of  Europeans  in  Africa  adver- 

tise Christianity? 

25  What  has  been  the  effect  on  missions  of  Belgian 

rule  in  the  Congo  Free  State? 

26  What  are  the  evils  of  Portuguese  administration? 
27*  Why  do  you  think  England  puts  restrictions  on 

Christians  from  which  Moslems  are  free? 

28  What  are  the  evils  of  the  liquor  traffic  in  Africa? 

29  Upon  whom  does  the  responsibility  rest  in  this 

matter? 

30*  What  is  there  that  you  can  do  to  help  remove  this 
evil? 

31*  In  view  of  the  evils  that  it  has  already  intro- 
duced, what  does  the  white  race  owe  to  Africa? 

32  In  what  spirit  ought  we  to  treat  those  who  have 

had  so  few  of  our  blessings? 

33  What  is  the  attitude  of  non-Christian  traders  in 

South  Africa  towards  the  blacks? 

34  What  is  the  cause  of  their  attitude? 

35  Has  this  treatment  made  the  blacks  any  easier  to 

handle? 
36*  Which  of  these  classes  of  needs  lays  upon  us  the 

heaviest  responsibility,  and  why? 
37     Is  the  greatness  of  the  needs  any  argument  for 

inaction? 


References  for  Papers  or  Talks. 

I . . .  The  Language  Problem. 

Battersby — Pilkington  of  Uganda,  Ch.  X. 
Hotchkiss — Sketches    from    the     Dark    Continent, 

Ch.  V. 
Noble — Redemption  of  Africa,  pp.  160-167. 
Thornton — Africa  Waiting,  pp.  16-18. 
Tyler — Forty  Years  Among  the  Zulus,  Ch.  II. 
Verner — Pioneering  in  Central  Africa,  Ch.  XXXV. 
Wilson— Western  Africa,  Pt.  IV;  Ch.  IV. 


What  of  the  Night  ?  137 

II. .  .Slavery. 

Bentley — Pioneering  on  the  Congo,  Ch.  II. 
Drummond — Tropical  Africa,  Ch.  IV. 
Harrison — Mackay  of  Uganda,  Ch.  XII. 
Jack — Daybreak  in  Livingstonia,  Ch.  XII. 
Wilson— Western  Africa,  Pt.  IV;  Ch.  III. 

III. .  .Polygamy. 

Tyler — Forty  Years  Among  the  Zulus,  Ch.  XIII. 
Verner — Pioneering  in  Central  Africa,  pp.  256,  257, 

455. 
Wilson— Western  Africa,  Pt.  II;  Ch.  IV. 


THE  MOENING  COMETH 


Where  is  light  most  needed?    Without  question  in 
dark,  dark  Africa,  — Bishop  Hill. 

A  voice 
Proclaiming  social  truth  shall  spread, 

And  justice.  — Tennyson. 


THE   MORNING   COMETH 

With  Christianity  as  the  dominating  cirrs«anit  - 
force,  commerce  and  European  control  are 
mighty  allies  in  solving  the  problems  which 
confront  Christian  missions  in  Africa. 
Commerce  creates  and  supplies  wants,  and 
if  the  wants  are  wholesome  the  people  are 
elevated  somewhat.  Industry  is  stimulated 
and  peace  is  fostered.  European  control 
supplants  native  misrule  with  stable  gov- 
ernment. While  not  always  righteous  in 
their  administration  (particularly  the  case 
with  Belgium  and  Portugal),  the  foreign 
governments  guarantee  inestimablebenefits 
to  Africa.  The  blessings  to  the  African 
through  British  rule  can  scarcely  be  ex- 
aggerated. 

The  solution  of  the  problems  presented  counteracting 

\  ^  Corrupt  Civili- 

by  corrupt  foreign  civilization  is  kindred  nation 
to  the  solution  for  the  same  problems  in 
civilized  countries.  The  difference  is  one 
of  degree  rather  than  kind.  In  Africa 
unscrupulous  government,  conscienceless 
141 


142     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


The   Slave 
Trade 


The   Liquor 
Traffic 


trade,  social  vice,  race  hatred,  and  religious 
intolerance  have  freer  scope  because  so  far 
removed  from  the  restraining  influence  of 
Christian  public  sentiment.  It  is  obvious 
that  such  problems  must  be  solved  by  the 
foreign  governments  and  civilizations  re- 
sponsible for  their  existence  in  Africa, 
rather  than  by  Christian  missions.  The 
suppression  of  the  foreign  slave  trade  is  a 
notable  example.  Livingstone,  the  mis- 
sionary, could  arouse  Christian  conscience 
against  the  abhorrent  traffic,  and  could  in- 
spire the  Powers  to  a  combined  effort  to 
heal  this  ''open  sore  of  the  world, ^^  but 
the  responsibility  for  the  abolition  of  the 
traffic  was  and  must  be  until  entirely 
stamped  out  governmental  rather  than  mis- 
sionary. So  also  resolute  Christian  public 
sentiment  in  civilization  against  the  liquor 
traffic  in  Africa  is  just  as  essential  as  it  is 
against  the  iniquitous  business  in  the  home 
land.  Most  of  the  foreign  powers  inter- 
ested in  Africa,  realizing  the  uneconomic 
feature  of  destroying  African  peoples  with 
rum,  endeavor  to  control  the  trade.  Sir 
George  Goldie,  the  foremost  commercial 
statesman  in  British  Nigeria,  and  virtually 
the  founder  of  the  Protectorate,  voiced  the 
common  sentiment  of  those  at  once  humane 


The  Morning  Cometh  143 

and  economically  wise :  ^  ^  I  speak  from  six- 
teen years'  experience,  and  I  say  confi- 
dently that  unless  immediate  steps  are 
taken  to  stop  this  traffic — not  by  higher 
duty,  but  by  absolute  prohibition — a  state 
of  things  will  soon  be  brought  about  that 
must  ultimately  lead  to  the  entire  abandon- 
ment of  the  country.  I  cannot  believe  that 
the  conscience  of  Europe  will  long  allow 
that  the  vast  populous  regions  of  tropical 
Africa  should  be  used  only  as  a  cesspool 
of  European  alcohol."^  The  Brussels  Con- 
ference (1890)  resolved  to  restrict  the  sale 
of  liquor  to  districts  into  which  it  had  been 
introduced  up  to  that  time.  The  fact  is  en- 
couraging as  indicating  the  attitude  of  the 
governments,  although  it  is  true  that  the 
liquor  dealers  evade  the  restriction  and 
persistently  ply  their  trade  in  the  prohib- 
ited sections. 

The  foreign  Powers  deal  severely  with  pa^a^eiuta^- 
Pagan  customs  and  conditions  which  en-  "*«« 
danger  human  life  and  brutalize  the  people. 
Cannibalism,  human  sacrifice,  witchcraft, 
and  native  wars  are  suppressed  wherever 
found  within  the  sphere  of  military  force. 
The  result  is  that  they  are  no  longer  prev- 
alent in  coast  regions.     With  the  spread 

^  Quoted  by  F.  Mockler-Ferryman,  British  Nigeria. 


144     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


Factors  in  tlie 
Conversion 
of   Islam 


The  Passing 
of  Domestic 
Slavery 


of  eiTective  European  control  the  entire 
continent  will  be  freed  from  these  awful 
barbarities. 

Commerce  and  European  governments 
are  most  important  factors  in  the  solution 
of  the  various  problems  presented  by  Is- 
lam. The  strength  of  Islam  is  ignorance 
and  fanaticism.  Enlightenment  and  re- 
straint are  essential  elements  in  Chris- 
tianizing Moslems.  Commerce  contributes 
to  a  larger  vision,  European  control  to 
tolerance,  and  both  to  a  receptive  attitude 
toward  education,  the  most  important  fea- 
ture of  missionary  work  for  Mohamme- 
dans, as  is  abundantly  proved  by  the  work 
of  the  American  Mission  in  Egypt. 

The  policies  of  governments  in  regard 
to  such  institutions  as  domestic  slavery 
vary.  Usually  radical  interference  is 
avoided.  It  is  not  deemed  wise  unduly  to 
arouse  native  opposition.  The  first  mea- 
sure adopted,  as  in  parts  of  British  Nigeria 
for  example,  is  the  destroying  of  the  legal 
status  of  slavery.  This  practically  places 
the  slave  on  the  grade  of  a  servant,  the 
master  having  no  property  right  in  him, 
and  the  slave  being  able  to  claim  his  free- 
dom when  he  chooses.  In  some  sections 
slavery  is  abolished  by  law,  although  where 


The  Morning  Cometh  145 

such  is  the  case^  Christianity  has  paved  the 
way  by  creating  a  strong  moral  sentiment 
against  slave-holding.-  Opposed  to  this  fact 
is  the  probability  that  efforts  toward  aboli- 
tion are  likely  to  meet  most  stubborn  op- 
position in  Mohammedan  Africa,  where  the 
religion  fosters  slavery.  Commerce,  be- 
stowing blessings  while  advancing  its  own 
interests,  is  certain  to  have  a  large  share 
in  ridding  the  continent  of  domestic  slav- 
ery. Take,  for  instance,  the  matters  of 
roads  and  currency.  Until  the  advent  of 
European  enterprise,  represented  both  by 
missions  and  commerce,  there  were  no 
roads  in  Africa.  Aside  from  the  caravan 
routes  of  the  desert,  and  the  navigable  por- 
tions of  rivers,  narrow,  crooked  paths  have 
served  every  purpose  of  travel,  and  slaves 
have  answered  for  conveyance.  Eoad 
building  makes  other  and  better  means  of 
transportation  possible  and  must  serve  the 
beneficent  end  of  decreasing  the  number  of 
slaves.  Slaves,  in  common  with  other  per- 
sonal property,  now  change  hands  as  cur- 
rency. This  condition,  too,  must  be  altered, 

'South  and  East  Africa,  Uganda,  and  Madagascar 
are  instances, 

^  The  German  East  Africa  government  has  decreed 
that  all  children  born  within  its  jurisdiction  after 
January,  1906,  shall  be  free. 


146     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

when  the  time  arrives  for  a  fixed  currency 
to  be  generally  introduced  into  interior  Af- 
rica by  foreign  nations.  And  an  altered 
condition,  again,  means  decrease  of  slaves. 

cnmaJr*"^  The  problem  presented  by  the  climate  of 

Africa  is  being  solved  by  the  cordial  co- 
operation of  the  missionary,  government 
official,  and  trader.  Dr.  D.  Kerr  Cross,  a 
leading  authority  upon  African  diseases, 
acquired  his  expert  knowledge  during  his 
service  as  a  medical  missionary  in  the  lake 
district.  Of  late  years  the  Liverpool  School 
of  Tropical  Medicine,  patronized  alike  by 
missionary,  civil,  and  commercial  interests, 
has  contributed  greatly  to  the  understand- 
ing of  African  diseases.  Strange  as  it  may 
appear,  precautions  in  diet,  clothing,  and 
sanitation  are  comparatively  recent  meth- 

African  Fever  ods  cmploycd  f or  fighting  African  fever. 
It  has  been  found  that  the  destruction  of  a 
species  of  mosquito  which  transfers  the 
malarial  poison  is  a  most  effective  pre- 
ventive to  African  fever.  Physicians 
and  officials  of  long  residence  in  Africa  be- 
lieve in  the  feasibility  of  carrying  out  im- 
mediate and  sweeping  sanitary  measures. 
The  German  physician  at  Kamerun  has 
demonstrated  that  the  clearing  off  of  heavy 
underbrush,  and  the  draining  of  stagnant 


The  Morning  Cometh  147 

pools,  together  with  ordinary  precautions, 
greatly  reduce  malaria.  Col.  A.  F.  Mockler- 
Ferryman  asserts  that  the  cost  of  cleansing 
the  Guinea  Coast  of  unsanitary  conditions 
^' would  probably  be  covered  in  a  couple  of 
years  by  the  saving  in  passage  money  of 
invalided  officials  and  their  successors.''^ 

Kindred  to  the  mosquito  theory  for  ma-  ^e^^^^*"**^  ***'^" 
laria  is  the  theory  that  a  species  of  tsetse 
fly,  which  is  itself  so  destructive  to  animals 
in  some  parts  of  Africa,  propagates  the 
sleeping  sickness,  and  medical  science  is 
devoting  itself  to  the  study  of  this  appar- 
ently incurable  disease.- 

It  is  fitting  to  emphasize  the  mission-  I^^  and  *****"■ 
ary's  share  in  bringing  about  further  civilisation 
altered  conditions.  His  work  is  less  osten- 
tatious but  more  marvelous,  because  he  ac- 
complishes results,  not  by  force  of  arms 
(a  practical  method  where  governments 
are  concerned),  but  by  the  patient,  con- 

'Col.  A.  F.  Mockler-Ferryman,  British  Nigeria. 

"  Sleeping  sickness  is  what  its  name  indicates,  a 
lethargy  which  grows  more  and  more  powerful  until 
the  long  sleep,  death,  ensues.  Its  ravages  are  con- 
fined to  the  natives,  the  European  rarely,  if  ever, 
being  attacked.  In  the  Congo  basin,  as  well  as  in 
Uganda,  it  is  especially  and  alarmingly  prevalent. 
In  the  Congo  it  is  estimated  that  it  claims  li),000  vic- 
tims annually,  with  this  death  rate  increasing.  On 
the  island  of  Buvuma,  Uganda,  it  is  said  to  have  re- 
duced the  population  in  one  year  (1902-3)  from  22,- 
000  to  8,000. 


148      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

tinued  beating  of  the  gospel  message  upon 
hardened  Pagan  hearts.  Christianity,  the 
truest  civilization,  works  in  Africa,  as 
everj^iere,  through  transformed  charac- 
ter and  not  by  external  force.  This  civiliza- 
tion introduced  by  the  missionary  gradually 
radiates  until  it  dominates  whole  communi- 
ties. After  all  due  acknowledgment  has 
been  made  to  the  governments,  the  fact  still 
remains  that  even  on  the  coast,  where  the 
governments  have  been  most  effective,  the 
missionary,  too,  has  been  a  powerful  factor 
in  changes  which  have  occurred.  Old  Cala- 
bar is  an  instance.  There  the  results  of 
Christian  teaching,  before  being  supple- 
mented by  civil  authority,  had  notably 
changed  the  people.  Farther  inland,  where 
the  missionaries  have  been  the  pioneers  of 
civilization,  they  and  they  alone  deserve 
the  credit.  Often,  before  foreign  govern- 
ments have  had  any  influence  upon  barbar- 
ous customs.  Christian  missions  have 
largely  eliminated  them,  and  have  produced 
native  civilizations  at  which  the  world  mar- 
vels. Such  has  been  the  case  in  Bechuana- 
land,  Basutoland,  Ngoniland  and  the  Lake 
Nyasa  country,  in  Uganda,  parts  of  the 
Congo  basin,  and  in  various  other  sec- 
tions. 


The  Morning  Cometh  149 

It  is  in  dealing  with  polygamy  that  the 
moral  suasion  of  Christianity  is  left  more 
definitely  to  itself,  for  governments  do  not 
often  interfere  with  the  custom.  That  some 
headway  is  being  made  is  shown  by  such 
testimony  as  that  of  Mr.  J.  J.  Jackson,  a 
chief  magistrate  in  Natal,  who  says:  "I 
firmly  believe  that  it  is  only  a  matter  of 
time,  when  under  the  quiet,  unostentatious 
work  of  the  missionaries  polygamy  will  die 
out.  The  number  of  licenses  issued  by  me 
during  1902  for  marriages  by  Christian 
rites  was  double  that  for  the  pre\dous  year, 
which  is  a  very  encouraging  fact  and  one 
which  speaks  well  for  the  future  of  the  na- 
tives. If  this  continues,  as  I  believe  it  will, 
I  see  no  reason  why  the  much-vexed  ques- 
tion of  polygamy  should  not  be  solved  by  a 
natural  process.  All  credit  is  due  to  the 
missionaries  who  have  succeeded  in  wisely 
placing  before  the  natives  the  advisability 
of  such  marriages,  and  I  am  convinced  that 
they  will  do  more  to  abolish  the  practice 
of  polygamy  than  any  legislation  on  the 
part  of  parliament  can  do.  It  is  a  re- 
markable fact  that  so  few  natives  who 
have  contracted  Christian  marriages 
break  their  marriage  vows,  jDrosecution 
of    natives    for    bigamy    being    compara- 


The    Decrease 
of   Polygamy 


150      Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


Alphabet  and 
Literature 


Greater  Unl 
formlty  of 
lianguagre 


tively  rare,  as  the  records  of  our  courts 
will  show."^ 

The  reduction  of  African  languages  to 
written  forms  has  been  left  almost  wholly 
to  the  Christian  missionary.  Already 
scores  of  the  more  important  languages 
and  dialects  have  been  given  alphabet  and 
literature.  Too  much  emphasis  can  scarcely 
be  laid  upon  the  inestimable  civilizing  in- 
fluence of  wholesome  literature  in  the  Afri- 
can's native  tongues.  Self-respect,  en- 
larged vision,  wholesome  occupation  and 
recreation,  and  the  stimulation  of  nobler 
impulses  are  all  concerned. 

Under  the  old  conditions,  with  the  con- 
tact between  tribes  too  often  only  warlike, 
it  has  been  but  natural  that  each  uncon- 
quered  tribe  should  cling  to  its  own  distinct 
language.  But  with  the  coming  of  civiliza- 
tion more  peaceful  intercourse  is  possible, 
and  with  the  spread  of  commerce  and  edu- 
cation there  is  likely  to  be  a  tendency  to- 
ward more  uniformity  of  speech.  This  is 
an  end  to  be  desired.  Aside  from  other 
considerations,  such  as  the  closer  union  of 
African  peoples,  and  facility  in  trade,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  a  greater  uniformity 


^Report  of  Deputation  of  American  Board  to  South 
Africa,  1903. 


Fonrfold 
Method 


The  Morning  Cometh  151 

of  language  would  contribute  to  the  speed- 
ier advancement  of  Christianity  in  Africa. 

The  missionary  methods  best  adapted  to 
Africa  are  four  in  number,  or,  better  per- 
haps, the  method  is  fourfold — medical, 
evangelistic,  industrial,  educational.  The 
four  should  be  combined  in  every  mission. 
No  station  is  otherwise  thoroughly  fur- 
nished for  the  multiplied  demands  that 
daily  press  upon  it. 

Medical  missions  are  everj^where  most  ^*«d*cai 
effective  pioneering  agencies.  They  are 
pre-eminently  so  in  Africa.  The  frightful 
death  rate  of  infants,  supplemented  by  the 
mortality  resulting  from  exposure,  unsani- 
tary conditions,  and  devastating  conta- 
gions, is  suggestive  of  the  opportunity  for 
the  mission  of  healing,  xlfricans  are  no 
exception  to  the  rule  that  sick  people  al- 
ways wish  to  be  well,  and  are  greatly  in- 
fluenced by  those  who  treat  them  success- 
fully. Moreover,  they  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  associate  medicine  with  religion, 
and  do  not  resent  the  proclamation  of  the 
God  and  religion  in  whose  service  the  phy- 
sician practices  his  healing  arts.  The  Af- 
ricans presuppose  that  every  man's  power 
depends  upon  the  power  of  the  god  he 
serves.    Efficiency,  then,  on  the  part  of  the 


152      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

medical  missionary  directly  preaches 
Christ  to  them,  first,  it  may  be,  only  as  the 
white  man's  God,  but  afterwards,  with  pa- 
tient teaching,  also  as  the  Saviour  of  the 
whole  world,  their  Saviour  from  sin,  the 
Great  Physician  of  their  souls.  The  medi- 
cal missionary  is  often  heralded  from  one 
district  to  another.  Deputations  from  kings 
and  tribes  beg  that  he  reside  among  them. 
"With  his  fame  goes  the  fame  of  his  God 
and  his  religion.  Perhaps  in  the  begin- 
ning no  other  mission  can  do  so  much  in 
winning  favor  rapidly  as  can  the  medical, 
if  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  evangelistic 
spirit. 
£2van8reii8tic  Thoroughgoiug  evangelism  rivals  medi- 
cine as  an  introductory  agency.  Abso- 
lutely essential  to  all  aggressive  mission- 
ary effort,  it  is  especially  adapted  to  the 
impulsive  nature  of  the  African.  The  evan- 
gelistic spirit  must  pervade  and  dominate 
all  missionary  methods,  whether  medical, 
industrial,  or  educational,  or  Christianity 
in  Africa,  perhaps  to  a  greater  degree  than 
among  the  more  stolid  races,  degenerates 
to  wooden  formalities.  To  one  keenly  sen- 
sitive to  the  vast  difference  between  the 
character  of  man  at  his  lowest  moral  level 
and   the   conquering   Christian,   it  might 


MEDICAL    MISSIONS 


AMERICAN     MISSION     HOSPITAL,     ASSIUT.    EGYPT 
AN    EMERGENCY    OUTDOOR    HOSPITAL,    INHAMBANE 


The  Morning  Cometh  153 

seem  incongruous  to  preach  to  an  audience 
of  naked  Pagans  on  ''The  Overcomers."^ 
How  much  they  have  to  overcome,  of  the 
world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil !  But  the  in- 
telligent eagerness  of  their  faces,  as  they 
appreciate  that  over  against  the  fact  of 
their  sins  is  the  truth  that  a  Deliverer  has 
come,  is  evidence  that  there  is  no  incon- 
gruity. 

A  peculiar  feature  of  evangelistic  work  pound"**"" 
has  developed  with  the  employment  of  ^'*««*«" 
large  numbers  of  natives  at  the  diamond, 
gold,  coal,  and  other  mines.  In  order  to 
insure  regularity  of  labor  and  to  prevent 
disorderly  conduct  and  theft,  the  workmen 
during  leisure  hours  are  confined  within 
enclosures  called  compounds.  The  oppor- 
tunity for  missionary  work  is  a  rare  one. 
Distractions  are  fewer  than  exist  in  the 
ordinary  native  village,  and  an  audience 
is  ready  at  hand  for  public  or  personal 
work.  Not  all  employers  permit  mission- 
aries to  preach  to  the  workmen,  but  there 
is  a  growing  appreciation  of  the  fact  that 
gospel  preaching  is  a  healthful  factor  in 
the  industrial  problem.  An  important 
phase  of  the  compound  mission  is  that 
those  converted  at  the  mines,  after  a  few 

^Revelation,  ii,  iil. 


154     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


Indnstrial 


Native 
Renponse 


months  of  labor,  carry  the  gospel  back  to 
their  tribesmen,  and  form  a  nucleus  for 
missionary  extension. 

The  value  of  the  industrial  mission  has 
been  proved  wherever  introduced.  Tropi- 
cal climate,  dispensing  with  the  necessity 
of  clothing;  abundance  of  fruits,  vege- 
tables, game,  and  fish  (according  to  the  sec- 
tion), dispensing  with  the  necessity  of 
much  exertion,  result  in  a  lack  of  indus- 
tries. ''We  are  all  as  lazy  as  we  dare  to 
be. ' '  The  advancement  of  the  African,  as 
with  every  other  race,  depends  upon  the 
number  and  quality  of  his  wants.  He  pro- 
gresses in  the  ratio  that  he  is  stimulated 
to  increase  and  elevate  his  desires.  Wants 
demand  industry  to  supply  them.  Industry 
develops  man.  Naturally,  at  first,  the  in- 
dustrial mission  seems  a  superfluous  waste 
of  energy  to  the  easy-going  child  of  nature. 
He  wonders  what  profit  there  is  in  knowing 
how  to  handle  the  adz,  saw,  and  plane.  Even 
after  he  has  learned  enough  to  do  it,  the 
embryo  printer  thinks  it  is  foolish  to  stand 
all  day  "sticking  lead  letters  in  a  row." 
But  steady  employment  begets  an  interest 
and  joy  in  industry  itself. 

The  usual  experience  of  all  societies  em- 
ploying the  industrial  mission  is  illustra- 


The  Morning  Cometh  155 

tive  of  the  deliberation  with  which  the  Af- 
rican adopts  foreign  ideas,  and  also  the 
zest  with  which  he  pursues  them  when  once 
approved.  For  the  first  few  years  in  new 
districts  pupils  can  scarcely  be  secured, 
but  after  native  confidence  has  been  won 
the  capacity  of  the  mission  is  continually 
overtaxed.  Boys  and  girls  grow  eager  for 
the  industrial  training,  and  their  parents, 
to  some  extent,  appreciate  its  value.  The 
Lovedale  Industrial  Mission  in  South  Af- 
rica had  had,  before  1900,  the  signal  suc- 
cess of  graduating  from  a  four  years' 
course  1,600  students.  Aside  from  this 
number  were  the  many  pupils  who  attended 
the  mission  school  but  did  not  complete  the 
course.  Of  the  1,600  graduates  only  fifteen, 
or  less  than  one  per  cent.,  have  reverted  to 
heathenism.  As  has  been  cited,  the  work  of 
the  Livingstonia  Industrial  Mission  is  so 
appreciated  by  the  British  Central  Africa 
government  that  a  state  prize  is  given  for 
every  graduate.  All  the  basic  industrial 
trades  are  taught.  Native  masons,  carpen- 
ters, machinists,  printers,  telegraph  opera- 
tors, are  transforming  the  appearance  of 
the  district  of  the  recently  ^^wild"  Ngoni 
into  that  of  a  civilized  country.  It  will 
also  be  remembered  that  the  marvelous 


156     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


Kdncatlonal 


Capability  of 
the    African 


growth  of  Uganda  Christianity  sprang 
from  the  evangelical  industrial  work  of 
Alexander  M.  Mackay. 

The  educational  mission,  notwithstand- 
ing the  opposition  of  many  traders,  sol- 
diers, and  government  officials,  is  vindi- 
cated by  its  fruits.  The  great  mass  of  pu- 
pils acquire  little  more  than  a  rudimentary 
knowledge  of  the  immortal  three  R's.  The 
purpose — eminently  practical — is  to  give 
the  pupil  an  intelligent  efficiency  as  a  fac- 
tor of  the  growing  civilization  about  him, 
to  create  within  him  the  beginnings  of  a 
wholesome  thought-life,  to  stimulate  him  to 
employ  his  time  so  that  he  may  escape 
somewhat  the  demoralization  of  idleness. 
Higher  schools  train  Bible  readers,  evan- 
gelists, and  regular  teachers  and  preach- 
ers. Distribution  of  literature  follows 
rudimentary  education.  It  is  then  that  the 
gospel  takes  wings. 

The  exaggerated  conclusions  drawn  from 
the  premise  that  the  sutures  of  the  Negro 's 
skull  close  at  an  early  age,  thus  prevent- 
ing the  expansion  of  the  brain,  find  ample 
refutation  in  the  numerous  products  of  the 
missions  schools.  The  African  as  a  race 
does  appear  to  lack  in  the  mental  quality 
necessary  to  the  mastery  of  mathematics 


The  Morning  Cometh  157 

and  abstract  subjects.  Many  eminent  lin- 
guists and  litterateurs  of  other  races  whose 
mental  capacity  is  beyond  question  have 
similar  difficulty.  That  the  peculiarity  is, 
on  the  whole,  racial  instead  of  individual 
with  the  African  is  not  conclusive  proof 
of  inferior  mental  caliber.  The  African 
is  capable,  teachable,  and  ready  to  learn,  if 
he  is  led  to  an  appreciation  of  the  value 
of  mental  equipment.  An  American  bishop 
and  a  governor  of  the  German  Kamerun, 
both  well  educated  men,  each  speaking  one 
of  the  three  leading  languages  of  the  world, 
were  obliged  to  depend  for  their  interview 
upon  a  young  African  interpreter  who  was 
born  in  Paganism  and  educated  at  a  mis- 
sion school.  Both  testify  to  his  fluency  in 
their  respective  languages.  The  incident  is 
not  at  all  unique.  Illustrations  indicating 
the  African's  capabilities  in  this  and  other 
resjDects  could  be  multiplied  indefinitely. 
The  universal  experience  of  missionaries  is 
that  Africans  are  apt  to  be  precocious  when 
young  and  usually  are  then  more  eager  to 
learn  than  in  later  life.  But  they  do  not 
necessarily  lose  capacity,  and  with  proper 
environment  and  incentive  their  interest 
for  intellectual  pursuits  does  not  abate. 
One  out  of  every  forty  in  mission  day- 


158      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


No  Educa- 
tional System 


Evangeliza- 
tion alone  In- 
adequate 


CivlUzatlon 

alone 

Inadequate 


schools  attends  the  higher  schools — a  fair 
proportion  as  compared  with  that  main- 
tained between  the  common  schools  and  the 
colleges  in  the  United  States. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  African 
has  no  native  system  of  education  worthy 
of  the  name,  as  do  the  peoples  of  India, 
China,  and  Japan.  Everything  must  be 
furnished  him,  from  the  alphabet  upward. 
It  is  an  astounding  fact  that  a  race  which 
has  had  no  educational  antecedents  should 
so  readily  respond  to,  and  so  worthily  pro- 
fit b}^,  educational  advantages. 

The  practical  value  of  educational  mis- 
sions may  be  inferred  from  an  incident  in 
the  work  of  certain  missionaries  in  the  in- 
terior of  Africa.  They  gave  themselves 
wholly  to  evangelistic  work  without  any 
effort  at  education,  under  the  mistaken 
idea  that  proclaiming  the  gospel  to  those 
who  had  not  heard  was  the  beginning  and 
end  of  missionary  endeavor.  After  years 
of  faithful  preaching,  the  gospels  were 
translated  into  the  native  language,  when 
it  was  discovered  that  none  could  read ! 

The  inefficiency  of  exclusively  industrial 
and  educational  work  may  be  illustrated  by 
a  single  incident.  Bishop  Colenso,  sharing 
the  opinion  often  expressed  by  captious 


The  Morning  Cometh  159 

critics,  that  civilization  should  precede 
Christianization,  selected  twelve  boys  from 
among  the  superior  race  of  Zulus.  He  con- 
scientiously and  persistently  devoted  him- 
self to  their  education  and  training  without 
a  word  or  suggestion  of  religion.  They 
were  bound  over  to  him  for  a  term  of  years 
on  this  condition.  The  susceptible  Afri- 
cans made  rapid  progress.  When  at  last 
the  good  bishop  thought  they  were  civ- 
ilized, he  told  them  that  all  he  had  done  was 
simply  preliminary,  and  was  incomplete 
without  the  immeasurably  greater  thing, 
acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ  as  their  per- 
sonal Saviour,  and  of  his  gospel  as  the  rule 
of  life.  The  next  morning  all  that  was  left 
of  his  promising  proteges  was  their  "civ- 
ilized" clothing.  They  had  donned  their 
loin-cloths  and  gone — back  to  their  Pagan 
homes,  back  to  their  Pagan  customs.^ 

Some  of  the  foremost  officials  of  Euro-  vieweS^y^ 
pean  governments  in  Africa  have  given  the  omc^iais"*"* 
most  unqualified  testimony  to  the  trans- 
forming power  of  Christian  missions.  It 
was  a  governor  of  Cape  Colony  who  said 
that  the  frontier  would  be  guarded  better 
by  nine  mission  stations  than  by  nine  mili- 
tary posts.     Sir  H.  H.  Johnston,  ex-Con- 

^Frederic  Perry  Noble,  Redemption  of  Africa. 


i6o     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

sul-General  of  British  Central  Africa,  says 
that  it  is  "to  missionaries  rather  than  to 
traders  or  government  officials  that  many 
districts  of  tropical  Africa  owe  the  intro- 
duction of  the  orange,  lime,  and  mango,  of 
the  cocoanut  palm,  the  cacao  bean,  and  the 
pineapple.  Improved  breeds  of  poultry 
and  pigeons,  many  useful  vegetables,  and 
beautiful  garden  flowers  have  been  and  are 
being  taken  farther  and  farther  into  the 
poorly  endowed  regions  of  barbarous  Af- 
rica by  these  emissaries  of  Christianity. 
It  is  they,  too,  who  in  many  cases  have  first 
taught  the  natives  carpentry,  joinery,  ma- 
sonry, tailoring,  cobbling,  engineering, 
bookkeeping,  printing,  and  European  cook- 
ery; to  say  nothing  of  reading,  writing, 
arithmetic,  and  a  smattering  of  general 
knowledge.  Almost  invariably  it  has  been 
to  missionaries  that  the  natives  of  interior 
Africa  have  owed  their  first  acquaintance 
with  the  printing-press,  the  turning-lathe, 
the  mangle,  the  flatiron,  the  sawmill,  and 
the  brick-mould.  Industrial  teaching  is 
coming  more  and  more  into  favor,  and  its 
immediate  results  in  British  Central  Af- 
rica have  been  most  encouraging.  Instead 
of  importing  printers,  carpenters,  store 
clerks,  cooks,  telegraphers,  gardeners,  nat- 


The  Morning  Cometh  i6i 

ural  history  collectors  from  England  or 
India,  we  are  gradually  becoming  able  to 
obtain  them  among  the  natives  of  the  coun- 
try, who  are  trained  in  the  missionaries' 
schools,  and  who,  having  been  given  simple, 
wholesome  local  education,  have  not  had 
their  heads  turned,  and  are  not  above  their 
station  in  life.  At  the  government  press 
at  Zomba  there  is  but  one  European  super- 
intendent— all  the  other  printers  being 
mission-trained  natives.  Most  of  the  tele- 
graph stations  are  entirely  worked  by 
Negro  telegraph  clerks  also  derived  from 
the  missions. 

*^When  the  history  of  the  great  African 
states  of  the  future  comes  to  be  written, 
the  arrival  of  the  first  missionary  will  with 
many  of  these  new  nations  be  the  first  his- 
torical event  in  their  annals."^ 

What  then  of  the  night!  Surely,  it  may 
be  said  of  Africa,  ' '  The  morning  cometh ! ' ' 

^Sir  H.  H.  Johnston,  British  Central  Africa. 


1 62     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


QUESTIONS  FOR  CHAPTER  V. 

Aim:  To  Study  Africa's  Claim  on  Christendom  in 
View  of  the  Increasing  Opportunities  for 
Effective  Missionary  Work. 

I . . .  Conditions  improving  with  the  advance  of  civili- 
zation. 

1  In  what  ways  is  European  control  an  aid  to  the 

missionary? 

2  What  evils  is  missionary  work  unable  to  suppress 

without  government  aid? 

3  How  does  it  aid  the  government  in  suppressing 

these  evils? 

4  Will  it  be  enough  to  have  these  evils  merely  sup- 

pressed? 
5*  What  remains  for  the  missionary  to  do  after  the 
government  has  acted? 

6  What  is  the  attitude  of  Christianity  toward  gen- 

eral education?  toward  commercial  and  politi- 
cal progress? 

7  Compare  the  position  of  Islam  with  that  of  Chris- 

tianity in  these  respects. 

8  What  factors  will  help  the  spread  of  education 

among  Moslems? 
9*  What  effect  will  this  have  upon  their  attitude  in 
religion? 

10  What  effect  upon  the  slave  problem  has  the  build- 

ing of  a  railroad  in  Africa? 

11  What  has  been  the  attitude  of  the  British  govern- 

ment toward  slavery? 
12*  Try  to  picture  the  mental  and  moral  outlook  of 
an  emancipated  African  slave. 

13  What  will   have  been   his   chances   of  acquiring 

anything  of  knowledge  or  goodness? 

14  Under  what  disadvantages  have  missionaries  for- 

merly labored  in  fighting  disease? 


The  Morning  Cometh  163 

15*  In  what  various  ways  will  the  effectiveness  of 
missionary  work  be  increased  by  improved 
health  conditions? 

16  What  has  been  the  effect  of  Christian  sentiment 

on  polygamy? 

17  What  will  be  the  effect  of  commerce  and  com- 

munication on  the  languages  of  Africa? 

18*  In  what  ways  does  the  spread  of  a  language  facili- 
tate missionary  work? 

19*  Sum  up  the  ways  in  which  the  opportunities  for 
effective  missionary  work  have  improved  in  the 
last  thirty  years. 

II . . .  The  increasing  possibilities  of  the  various  forms 
of  missionary  work. 

20  Give  several  reasons  why  medical  missions  are 

especially  needed  in  Africa. 

21  What  Christian  virtues  are  fostered  by  industrial 

missions? 

22  Why  is  this  form  of  missionary  work  especially 

needed  in  Africa? 

23  What  special  diflBculties  has  educational  work  to 

contend  with  in  Africa? 

24  Is  it  for  this  reason  less  needed? 

25*  In  your  opinion,  which  form  of  missionary  work 
does  the  most  good  in  Africa — the  medical, 
evangelistic,  educational,  or  industrial?  Give 
three  reasons. 

26  What  should  be  the  relation  of  the  evangelistic  to 

the   other    departments    of    missionary    work? 
Make  some  practical  suggestions. 

27  Which  does  the  most  for  the  other,  civilization  for 

missions,  or  missions  for  civilization?  Give 
reasons  for  your  view. 
28*  In  view  of  the  development  of  these  lines  of  work, 
how  do  you  think  Africa  compares  with  other 
fields  in  its  opportunities  for  the  investment  of 
a  life? 


164     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


References  for  Papers  or  Talks. 

I... Medical  Missions. 
Ecumenical  Missionary  Conference,  New  York,  Vol. 

II,  pp.  188,  189,  198,  199. 
Noble — Redemption  of  Africa,  pp.  551-561. 
Stewart — Dawn    in    the    Dark   Continent,    pp.    267, 

268,  295. 

II. .  .Industrial  Missions. 

Harrison — Mackay  of  Uganda,  pp.  152,  153. 
Hotchkiss — Sketches  from  the  Dark  Continent,  pp. 

146-154. 
Noble — Redemption  of  Africa,  pp.  562-578. 
Stewart— Dawn  in  the  Dark  Continent,  pp,  178-196. 
Verner — Pioneering  in  Central  Africa,  pp.  Ill,  292. 
World-Wide  Evangelization,  pp.  278-295. 

III. .  .Educational  Missions. 
Ecumenical  Missionary  Conference,  New  York,  Vol. 

I,  pp.  458-461. 
Harrison — Mackay  of  Uganda,  pp.  128,  131. 
Watson — The    American    Mission    in    Egypt,    Ch. 

XXVII. 

IV. .  .Evangelistic  Missions. 

Battersby— Pilkington  of  Uganda,  Ch.  Xil. 
Jack — Daybreak  in  Livingstonia,  Chs.  VIII,  XVIII. 
Matthews — Thirty  Years  in  Madagascar,  Ch.  XVIII. 
Mullins— The  Wonderful  Story  of  Uganda,  Ch.  X. 
Pierson— The  New  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  pp.  251-254, 
267-279. 


THE  RELIGION  OF  LIGHT 


"The  people  that  walked  in  darkness  have  seen  a 
great  light:  they  that  dwell  in  the  land  of  the  shadow 
of  death,  upon  them  hath  the  light  shined." 

— Isaiah  ix:  2. 


VI 

THE   BELIGION   OF   LIGHT 

Afkica,  next  to  Palestine,  is  the  country  Ear\TB?i»ie 
most  closely  connected  with  the  early  his-  story 
tory  of  the  Hebrew  race,  and  Christians 
the  world  over  love  the  sacred  stories  lived 
out  so  long  ago  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile.  A 
*^ grievous  famine''  caused  Abraham  and 
Sarah  to  go  down  into  Egypt,  and  a  famine 
impelled  Jacob  to  send  his  sons  for  corn 
down  into  the  continent  where  to-day  the 
famine  of  the  Word  of  God  is  ^ '  so  sore  in 
all  the  land. ' '  Then  there  are  the  exquisite 
stories,  of  Joseph,  of  Benjamin  and  the 
missing  silver  cup,  of  Jacob 's  meeting  with 
his  long-lost  son,  and  of  his  dying  blessings 
upon  his  children,  of  the  baby  in  the  ark  of 
bulrushes,  and  of  the  man  Moses  and  his 
nearness  to  God.  There  are  the  wonderful 
ones,  of  the  plagues,  and  of  Aaron  and  the 
magic  rod.  There  are  the  solemn  ones — the 
slaying  of  the  firstborn,  the  haste  of  the 
passover  night,  the  flight  of  the  children  of 
Israel,  and  the  presence  of  God  in  the  pillar 
of  cloud  by  day  and  the  pillar  of  fire  by 
night.   And  there  are  the  thrilling  ones — 

167 


1 68      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


The   Ethio- 
pians  in   Is- 
rael's   Later 
History 


the  crossing  of  the  Eed  Sea  on  dry  land,  the 
pursuit  by  Pharaoh,  and  the  terrible  fate 
which  befell  his  host. 

The  Ethiopians  figure  in  Israel's  later 
history.  Under  Shishak,  king  of  Egypt, 
they  participated  in  the  invasion  of  Pales- 
tine in  the  time  of  Eehoboam.^  The  Ethio- 
pian king  Zerah  attacked  Asa  *Vith  an 
host  of  a  thousand  thousand,  and  three 
hundred  chariots."-  Ambassadors  came 
from  Tirhakah,  king  of  Ethiopia,  for  the 
purpose  of  forming  an  alliance  with  Heze- 
kiah.  It  was  then  that  Isaiah  uttered  his 
prophecy  concerning  "the  land  of  the  rust- 
ling of  wings,  which  is  beyond  the  rivers  of 
Ethiopia."  Looking  down  the  centuries  he 
saw  the  gathering  of  the  nations  to  the 
standard  of  Jehovah,  and  naturally  reflect- 
ed in  his  picture  of  the  future  the  then  cur- 
rent conception  of  the  Negro:  ''In  that 
time  shall  a  present  be  brought  unto  Jeho- 
vah of  hosts  from  a  people  tall  and  smooth, 
and  from  a  people  dreaded  near  and  far ;  a 
strong,  strong  nation  and  all-subduing, 
whose  land  the  rivers  divide,  to  the  place  of 
the  name  of  Jehovah  of  hosts,  the  Mount 
Zion."^    The  necessity  of  fighting  against 

^  II  Chron.  xii:  2,  3.  -  II  Chron.  xiv:  9. 

^Isaiah  xviii:  1,  7,  after  Prof.  T.  K.  Cheyne's  trans- 
lation and  Cambridge  Bible. 


Africa  in  New 
Testament 


The  Religion  of  Light  169 

the  Ethiopians  under  Tirhakah  delayed  the 
designs  of  Sennacherib,  king  of  Assyria, 
against  Jerusalem/  Later,  during  the  siege 
of  Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadrezzar,  Ebed- 
melech,  the  Ethiopian,  rescued  Jeremiah 
from  the  miry  dungeon  into  which  his  own 
countrymen  had  cast  him,  and  God  in  a  per- 
sonal message  promised  to  reward  his  ser- 
vice to  the  prophet  by  delivering  him  from 
peril.^ 

New  Testament  history  contains  inci- 
dents relating  to  Africa  which  strikingly  History 
suggest  occurrences  recorded  in  the  Old 
Testament,  while  other  passages  of  greater 
significance  indicate  the  ready  communica- 
tion at  that  time  between  North  Africa  and 
Palestine.  Africa  cradled  the  Messianic 
race,  and  it  sheltered  the  infant  Messiah; 
Africans  peculiarly  befriended  Jacob,  Jo- 
seph, Moses,  and  Jeremiah,  types  and 
prophets  of  the  Saviour  of  men,  and  an 
African  was  the  first  to  bear  the  cross  of 
Christ.^  ^ '  Dwellers  in  Egypt  and  the  parts 
of  Libya  about  Gyrene''  were  present  at 
Pentecost/  Two  Africans,  Simeon,  ''who 
was  called  black,"  and  Lucius  of  Gyrene 
were  foremost  prophets  and  teachers  in  the 

*II  Kings  xix:   9. 

2  Jeremiah  xxxviii:  7-13;  xxxix:  15-18. 

^Matt.  xxvii:  32.  *Actsii:  10. 


1 70      Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


The   Treasurer 
of   the   Ethio- 
pian   ^ueen 


Traditional 

Apostolic 

Liabors 


first  missionary  church/  Apollos,  elo- 
quent, mighty  in  the  Scriptures,  fervent  in 
spirit,  who  taught  diligently,  spake  boldly, 
and  mightily  convinced  the  Jews,  was  him- 
self a  native  of  Alexandria.^ 

Four  years  after  Pentecost  the  treasurer 
of  the  queen  of  Ethiopia  proper  (the  Up- 
per Nile  region)  was  returning  to  his  coun- 
try from  Jerusalem.  The  fifty-third  chap- 
ter of  Isaiah  both  attracted  and  puzzled 
him.  But  Philip  ''began  at  the  same  scrip- 
ture, and  preached  unto  him  Jesus. '^^  He 
believed  and  was  baptized.  What  he  told 
his  dusky  queen  and  her  subjects,  how  they 
received  his  message,  and  how  many  dis- 
ciples were  gathered  in  response  to  it  can 
only  be  conjectured.  Yet  the  fact  of  Chris- 
tian communities  in  Ethiopia  in  the  early 
centuries  of  our  era  adds  to  the  interest  of 
the  incident  told  with  minuteness  of  detail 
by  Luke. 

According  to  tradition,  early  African 
Christianity  warranted  the  labors  of  six  of 
the  Apostles,  Matthew  and  Thomas  in  Ethi- 
opia, Peter  and  James  the  Less  in  Egypt, 
Jude  and  Simon  in  Cyrene.  Mark,  the 
evangelist,   is   also  said  to   have  been   a 


^Acts  xiii:  1. 
•Acts  viii:    26-40. 


'Acts  xviii:  24-28. 


EDUCATIONAL   MISSIONS 


AN    OUTDOOR    SCHOOL    FDR    GIRLS,    IKOKO 
A    CLASS    IN    ARITHMETIC,    ANGOLA 


The  Religion  of  Light  171 

worker  in  Egypt,  and  to  have  become  the 
bishop  of  Alexandria. 

The  good  news  was  heard  gladly. 
Within  200  years  after  Pentecost  there 
were  900  churches  in  North  Africa.  The 
Mediterranean  coast  lands  were  evangel- 
ized, and  the  population  of  the  cities  from 
Egypt  westward  were  as  much  Christian 
as  heathen.^ 

The  rapid  growth  of  Christianity  did  not 
preclude  heroism.  Early  Christians  in 
Africa  courted  rather  than  shunned  mar- 
tyrdom. This  spirit  often  led  to  the  plac- 
ing of  undue  emphasis  upon  the  merit  of 
physical  suffering,  but  it  none  the  less  in- 
dicated the  depth  and  completeness  of  the 
surrender  to  Christ. 

Missionary  zeal  was  also  characteristic 
of  the  early  African  church.  The  first  mis- 
sionary training  school  was  founded  in 
Alexandria  before  200  A.D.  Three  great 
scholars,  Pantasnus,  Origen,  and  Clement, 
succeeded  to  the  principalship  of  this  in- 
stitution. The  first  made  long  evangeliz- 
ing tours.  The  other  two  abounded  in 
teachings  and  writings  that  kept  the  heart 

'It  should  be  kept  clearly  in  mind  that  the  popula- 
tions of  the  coast  lands  of  North  Africa  at  that  time 
were  composed  almost  entirely  of  Jews,  Greeks,  and 
Romans,  Egypt  excepted. 


Good  NevFs 
Heard  Gladly 


Heroic 
Christianity 


Missionary 
Zeal 


172      Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

of  the  church  alive  for  missions.  Their 
labors  were  supplemented  by  the  practical 
and  literary  missionary  endeavors  of  other 
North  African  church  leaders,  Tertullian, 
Cyprian,  Arnobius,  Augustine/  These 
giants  of  the  early  church  performed  one 
service  which  has  laid  a  lasting  obligation 
upon  Christians  of  all  lands  and  all  times 
to  carry  the  gospel  to  Africa.  They  made 
the  earliest  translations  of  the  Bible  from 
the  original  Hebrew  and  Greek  into  Latin ; 
and  the  Vulgate,  from  which  our  English 
(authorized)  version  derives  so  much  of 
its  pith  and  color,  was  founded  upon  these 
translations. 
Ne^Vo^s*  ***  Impelled  by  the  influence  of  such  men, 

missionaries  went  out  from  Alexandria  and 
other  centers  into  Egypt,  Libya,  Ethiopia 
(including  Nubia  and  Abyssinia),  the  isl- 
and of  Sokotra,  and  among  the  fierce 
tribes  of  the  borderland  of  the  Sahara 
Desert.  This  missionary  movement  ex- 
tended through  several  centuries.  The 
response  which  was  met  from  the  Negro 
and  part  Negro  peoples  to  whom  the  gos- 
pel   was    thus    carried    is    not    definitely 

'More  than  half  of  the  twenty  greatest  names  of 
the  early  church  from  150  to  400  A.D.,  and  a  like  pro- 
portion of  Christian  writings  of  the  same  period, 
were  North  African.  Athanasius,  partly  Negro  at 
least,  was  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  church  leaders. 


The  Religion  of  Light  173 

known,  but  aside  from  the  permanent  re- 
sults in  Egypt  and  Abyssinia,  it  is  a  matter 
of  history  that  whole  tribes  were  won  to  at 
least  a  nominal  acceptance  of  Christianity. 

The  readiness  of  the  early  Christians  to  f^  Abyssinia 
witness  to  their  faith  is  illustrated  in  the 
circumstances  surrounding  the  introduc- 
tion of  Christianity  into  Abyssinia  in  the 
fourth  century.  Frumentius  of  Tyre  be- 
came the  founder  of  the  church  there.  To- 
gether with  his  brother  Edesius  he  was 
taken  captive  at  a  Red  Sea  port  and  car- 
ried to  the  king  of  the  country.  It  was 
not  long  before  he  was  telling  the  people 
the  gospel  story,  and  thereafter  he  de- 
voted his  life  to  building  up  a  strong 
church.  He  was  aided  in  this  work  by  mis- 
sionaries from  Alexandria,  who  volun- 
teered for  the  field  when  he  in  person  pre- 
sented his  cause  before  Athanasius  in  that 
city.  Frumentius  himself  was  made  bishop 
of  the  new  church,  and  later  became  known 
as  ^^the  Father  of  Peace."  From  that  day 
to  this  the  Ethiopian  church  of  Abyssinia 
has  been  connected  with  the  Coptic  church 
of  Egypt. 

Viewing  the  foregoing  facts  from  the  anrFl^r^re 
standpoint   of   the    twentieth   century,    it  «'  *^^  Eany 

*^  '  Church 

would  seem  that  the  fullness  of  time  for 


174     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

the  redemption  of  Africa  had  come,  and 
that  to  the  early  church  was  given  the  op- 
portunity of  the  ages.  But  at  the  crucial 
point,  because  theological  bickerings  and 
personal  rivalries  supplanted  spiritual 
teaching  and  unselfish  devotion  to 
Christ,  the  church  failed.  Sects  multi- 
plied. Party  lines  were  sharply  defined 
and  bitterly  defended.  Ecclesiastical  con- 
fusion terminated  in  civil  strife.  Rival 
sects  fought  each  other  to  the  death  over 
disputed  doctrines.  The  inevitable  fol- 
lowed. ^^A  house  divided  against  itself 
cannot  stand."  It  is  deplorable  that  such 
fervor,  such  steadfastness,  such  scholar- 
ship, such  broadminded  statesmanship, 
such  disinterested  zeal  in  missionary  effort 
as  at  first  characterized  African  Christian- 
ity, should  so  quickly  have  come  to  naught. 
The  growth  and  decay  of  the  North  Af ri- 
vitaiity  can  church  vividly  illustrates  the  fact  that 

missions  are  not  only  the  chief  business  of 
Christians,  but  that  without  the  missionary 
spirit  any  sect,  church,  or  individual  Chris- 
tian inevitably  sinks  into  spiritual  death. 
*^Give  or  die"  is  the  inexorable  law  over 
Christians.  This  truth  was  repeatedly 
enunciated  by  Christ.  ^'Except  a  corn  of 
wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abid- 


The    Secret   of 
Clirlstian 


The  Religion  of  Light  175 

eth  alone.''  ^'He  that  loseth  his  life  for 
my  sake  shall  find  it. ' '  So  long  as  genuine 
missionary  fires  burned  on  the  altars  of 
the  North  African  church  it  could  defy 
every  effort  that  imperial  Kome  put  forth 
for  its  extermination.  Tertullian  had 
abundant  warrant  for  first  expressing  the 
thought,  ^'The  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the 
seed  of  the  church."  From  the  midst  of 
scenes  of  African  martyrdom  he  wrote  to 
the  Roman  ruler,  '^Kill  us,  torture  us,  con- 
demn us,  grind  us  to  dust;  the  oftener  we 
are  mown  down  by  you  the  more  in  num- 
ber we  grow ;  the  blood  of  the  Christian  is 
seed."^ 

The  probability  that  gospel  light  would 
long  since  have  flooded  the  Dark  Conti- 
nent, and  that  Islam  would  have  made  as 
little  headway  in  Africa  as  in  Europe,  had 
the  evangelistic  fervor  of  the  earlier  type 
of  Christianity  continued  its  vigorous  con- 
quest, belongs  to  the  saddening  '^  might 
have  beens"  of  these  nineteen  Christian 
centuries.  It  was  when  Christians  forsook 
their  missionary  calling  and  devoted  their 
energies  to  quarreling  over  doctrinal  dif- 
ferences that  they  lost  faith  and  spiritual 
vitality.    Then  the  remnants  of  self-muti- 

'  F.  Piper,  Lives  of  Church  Leaders. 


What    Africa 
Ml^ht    Have 
Been 


176      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

lated  Christianity  proved  powerless  before 
the  aggressive  and  united  Mohammedan- 
ism of  the  seventh  century.^  Then  Islam 
found  in  Africa — the  neglected  opportu- 
nity of  Christianity — an  atmosphere  most 
favorable  to  its  growth,  where  it  since  has 
wielded  a  subtle  and  far-reaching  influence. 
stability  of  It  is  sometimes  said,  and  more  often  im- 

character  plied,  that  tho  black  man  of  Africa  has  no^ 
stability  of  character,  no  virile  qualities 
that  can  be  relied  upon  for  sustained  effort 
in  the  face  of  adversity.  The  history  of 
African  Christianity  effectually  discredits 
any  such  broad  inference.  It  is  a  fact  of 
supreme  importance  in  estimating  the 
probable  permanence  of  mission  work  in 
Africa  that  those  churches  in  which  the 
Negro  element  exceeded  the  Caucasian  out- 
lived those  in  which  the  reverse  was  true. 
The  churches  dominated  by  the  Greek, 
Eoman,  Jewish,  and  other  colonists  of 
North  Africa  were  all  too  quickly  overcome 
by  Islam.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Nubian 
church  withstood  Mohammedan  fire  and 
sword  until  the  fifteenth  century.  The 
Ethiopian  church  finally  became  consoli- 

'Aside  from  the  Egyptian  and  Abyssinian  Chris- 
tians, exception  should  be  made  of  the  scattered  rem- 
nants of  Christianity.  Little  colonies  of  Christians, 
located  here  and  there  in  North  Africa,  did  with- 
stand Islamism,  some  of  them  for  many  years. 


The  Religion  of  Light  177 

dated  in  Abyssinia,  where  it  has  since 
maintained  its  organizatioii.  Surrounded 
by  Mohammedans  on  all  sides  for  more 
than  1,000  years,  these  Abyssinian  Chris- 
tians have  kept  them  at  bay.  So  strong 
has  been  their  influence  in  the  country  that 
it  is  only  within  comparatively  recent 
years  that  Mohammedanism  has  gained 
any  considerable  footing  there. 

The  membership  of  the  Coptic  church  of 
Egypt  is  composed  of  descendants  of  the 
ancient  Egyptians.  After  a  brief  period 
of  favor  as  a  reward  for  having  assisted 
the  Mohammedans  in  overcoming  the  or- 
thodox church,  of  which  they  were  a  sect, 
the  Copts  were  subjected  to  persecution 
similar  to  that  inflicted  upon  all  Christian 
bodies.  While  some  did  not  remain  true, 
there  were  many  who  did,  and  for  1,200 
years  the  church  has  stood  uncompromis- 
ingly immovable  against  Mohammedan 
persuasion  and  violence,  and  at  the  close 
of  the  protracted  persecutions  has  a  thor- 
oughly organized  priesthood  and  a  definite 
church  polity.  Its  membership  numbers 
about  650,000,  and  is  in  scattered  communi- 
ties throughout  Egypt. 

It  cannot  be  claimed  that  the  Abyssinian 
(Ethiopian)  and  Coptic  churches  of  to-day. 


The    Coptic 
Cburoli 


Ethiopian  and 
Coptic  Cliurclies 
Semblances  of 
Christianity 


178     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

inheritors  of  the  early  church  though  they 
are,  are  more  than  bare  semblances  of 
Christianity.  Among  some  of  the  com- 
munities of  the  Ethiopian  church  Chris- 
tian forms  and  doctrines  are  mixed  with 
much  that  is  Pagan.  Both  churches  are  in 
reality  gross  caricatures  in  faith  and  prac- 
tice. The  worship  is  formal  and  almost 
meaningless;  the  priests  are  often  un- 
learned, and  are  extremely  lax  in  morals, 
and  the  people  are  like  the  priests.  Still, 
the  very  fact  of  their  steadfastness  to  the 
little  light  they  had,  and  that,  too,  amid 
severest  trial,  is  indicative  of  what  might 
have  been  true  had  early  Christianity  kept 
to  its  purity  of  practice,  its  singleness  of 
purpose,  and  its  simplicity  of  creed.  It  is 
indicative,  also,  of  what  may  be  true  if  en- 
lightened Christians  of  other  lands  will  but 
be  faithful  in  leading  these  blinded  wan- 
derers back  to  the  true  faith. 
A  Tiionsand         From  tlic  sixth  to  the  sixteenth  centuries 

Years  of 

Nesiect  the    Christian   church   attempted  nothing 

worthy  of  note  for  the  Negro.  Even  had 
there  been  inclination,  Islam,  a  menacing 
power,  stretched  across  North  Africa,  and 
until  the  era  of  discovery  opened  in  the 
fifteenth  century  there  was  no  communica- 
tion with  more  distant  portions  of  the  con- 


The  Religion  of  Light  179 

tinent.  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator  (1394- 
1460)  did  instruct  his  West  African  ex- 
plorers "to  cultivate  the  Negroes,  establish 
peace,  and  use  their  utmost  diligence  in 
making  converts. '  ^  But  he  permitted  slav- 
ery in  the  * '  hope  that  by  conversation  with 
Christians  the  slaves  might  easily  be  won 
to  the  faith, ''^  and  thus  by  stimulating 
greed  instead  of  charity  he  paralyzed  mis- 
sionary motive. 

Soon  after  the  discovery  of  the  Congo  con^o*"^** 
in  1484  the  Portuguese  opened  missions  Missions 
along  the  great  river.  With  but  few  ex- 
ceptions the  African  seems  to  have  accord- 
ed a  warm  welcome  to  the  new  religion. 
The  fame  of  beads,  charms,  crosses,  im- 
ages of  the  virgin,  censers  and  incense,  and 
of  the  stately  solemn  service  preceded  the 
missionaries  everywhere.  They  were  often 
thronged  with  those  eager  to  be  enrolled 
in  the  new  faith.  Thousands  were  bap- 
tized, churches  were  built,  and  the  pious 
in  Portugal  were  thrilled  with  the  mission- 
ary reports  from  the  kingdom  of  the 
Congo.  But  alas !  it  was  far  from  becom- 
ing a  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of  his 
Christ.  Baptism  and  superficial  forms 
were  substituted  for  vital  piety.    The  Pa- 

^C.  R.  Beazley,  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator. 


i8o     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

gan  remained  a  Pagan,  having  acquired 
little  more  than  a  new  name^  for  his  charms 
and  his  religion.  This  was  about  all  that 
was  left  to  the  African  of  a  great  but  mis- 
taken missionary  effort. 
Missions  of  Since  the   consideration   of   Protestant 

tlie  Roman  Ca- 
tholic churcii    missions  is  to  occupy  the  followmg  pages, 

it  is  proper  at  this  point  to  mention  the 
later  work  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church 
for  Africa.  During  the  centuries  succeed- 
ing the  fifteenth  intermittent  efforts  were 
made  in  various  sections  of  the  continent, 
and  with  varying  success;  but  the  labors 
of  the  past  forty  years  have  been  charac- 
terized by  definite  advance,  and  by  a  steady 
increase  in  the  number  of  adherents  to 
Catholicism.  Native  communicants  were 
estimated  in  1901  at  374,259."  A  spirit  of 
intolerance  toward  other  Christian  work- 
ers is  too  often  a  prominent  feature  of 
Roman  Catholic  missions,  but  the  student 
of  missions  must  recognize  and  give  due 
tribute  to  those  missionaries  of  noble 
character  who,  with  deep  devotion,  have 
given  their  lives  a  willing  sacrifice  for  Af- 

^  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  introduction  of  the 
Portuguese  word  feitigo — charm  or  image — gave  the 
name  "fetich"  to  nearly  everything  in  any  way  con- 
nected with  the  African's  Pagan  religion. 

^  Encyclopedia  of  Missions.  Revised  Edition.  Total 
of  table,  pp.  848,  849. 


The  Religion  of  Light  i8i 

rica's   salvation,   as   they   have   seen   the 
way. 

Protestant  missions  in  Africa  were  an  Mi^*fois"* 
outgrowth  of  the  missionary  revival  which 
occurred  at  the  dawn  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  William  Carey  was  a  prime  fac- 
tor in  this  revival  movement.  Although  told 
that  when  God  wanted  to  convert  the  heath- 
en he  would  do  it  without  his  help,  Carey 
persisted  in  his  consecrated  enthusiasm, 
until,  following  immediately  upon  his  im- 
passioned appeals  to  "Expect  great  things 
from  God ;  attempt  great  things  for  God, ' ' 
the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  was  organ- 
ized (1792).  It  was  Carey's  wish  to  devote 
his  life  to  West  Africa,  but  he  was  sent 
to  India  instead.  Fourteen  years  later 
(1806)  Samuel  J.  Mills  and  four  other 
students  of  Williams  College  were  driven 
by  a  thunderstorm  from  their  place  of 
prayer  in  the  woods  to  the  shelter  of  a  hay- 
stack. There  they  pledged  themselves  to 
become  foreign  missionaries.  The  Ameri- 
can Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign 
Missions  was  the  direct  outcome  of  the 
"Haystack  Meeting.''  These  incidents 
had  a  large  part  in  arousing  Christians 
everywhere  to  their  responsibility  to  the 
heathen  world.    Missionary  organizations 


1 82      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

multiplied,  and  Africa  shared  in  the  ef- 
fects of  the  awakening.  With  the  opening 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  Protestantism 
had  rediscovered  the  obligation  of  Chris- 
tianity to  Pagan  Africa. 

Yo^'Isoo'^^^**'"'  Previous  to  1800  the  only  endeavors  of 
Protestants  in  Africa  which  could  show 
permanent  if  slight  results  were  the  Mo- 
ravian mission  to  the  Hottentots  of  South 
Africa,  founded  in  1737  by  George 
Schmidt,  and  the  Church  of  England  mis- 
sion^ to  the  natives  of  Sierra  Leone,  begun 
in  1752.^  A  few  organizations,  the  London, 
Scottish,  and  Wesleyan  societies,  inaugu- 
rated work  in  Sierra  Leone,  Liberia,  and 
South  Africa  during  the  last  years  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  but  there  had  been  time 
only  to  take  bearings  and  to  prepare  for 
aggressive  development.  Between  Liberia 
in  the  northwest  and  Cape  Colony  in  the 
extreme  south  there  was  not  at  the  dawn- 
ing of  the  nineteenth  century  a  single 
gleam  of  gospel  light. 

Serious  Scrious  difficulties  were  encountered  in 

Difficulties  _  _,  _      , 

'This  Church  of  England  work  was  earned  on 
under  the  direction  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts. 

^There  had  been  a  few  short-lived  attempts  toward 
the  conversion  of  Africans  before  1800.  Two  Luth- 
eran missionaries  entered  Abyssinia  in  1632,  but  were 
expelled  through  Jesuit  intrigue.  A  Dutch  minister 
preached  to  the  Hottentots  as  early  as  1662. 


The  Religion  of  Light  183 

the  early  Protestant  work.  The  climate  of 
the  northwest  coast  in  that  day,  before  the 
necessity  of  simple  sanitary  precautions 
had  come  to  be  generally  recognized,  was 
extremely  deadly.  In  South  Africa  mis- 
sionary efforts  were  often  bitterly  antago- 
nized. To  baptize  Hottentots  was  to  recog- 
nize them  as  men,  and  many  of  the  Dutch 
farmers  and  traders,  who  customarily  re- 
garded them  with  contempt  and  treated 
them  with  brutality,  could  not  abide  such 
recognition.  A  notice  over  the  door  of  at 
least  one  Dutch  church  bespoke  the  inten- 
sity of  race  hatred.  It  ran,  '^Hottentots 
and  dogs  forbidden  to  enter. ''^ 

Notwithstanding  Boer  opposition,  rapid 
progress  in  evangelization  has  been  made 
in  South  Africa.  From  the  standpoint  of 
health  always,  and  from  that  of  govern- 
ment environment  since  1806,  when  the 
British  administration  began.  South  Af- 
rica has  been  a  favorable  field  for  con- 
tinued effort.  Most  of  the  different  Chris- 
tian denominations  have  there  been  repre- 

^  The  inference  must  not  be  drawn  that  the  race 
hatred  of  the  Boers  for  the  native  was  or  is  universal. 
There  have  been  throughout  the  years  many  Boers 
who  have  been  thoroughly  Christian  both  in  spirit 
and  in  practice.  But  the  lamentable  fact  remains 
that  the  dominating  sentiment  has  always  been  of  the 
character  indicated  above. 


Progress  in 
Soatb  Africa 


184     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


Ad-vanee 
Nortbirard 


sented  through  one   or  more  missionary 
societies. 

The  story  of  the  advance  of  Christianity 
northward  from  the  Cape  is  one  of  never- 


Garenganze  U 


Coilla-Vrd     ^  v^on  ^  &    - 


Ba^^ 


KhanicL's  v 
Count.ry   >/ 
Bechuanas  m- 


CapeTown\o^||^ 


idt  Ka-j 


SOUTH  AFRICA. 

failing  interest.  It  is  the  story  of  the  ex- 
tension of  the  Moravian  work  among  the 
Hottentots  and  Kaffirs,  and  to  some  degree 
among  the  Bushmen  even.  It  is  the  story 
too  of  heroic  missionaries  alone  and  un- 


The  Religion  of  Light  185 

armed  braving  association  with  savages 
goaded  into  desperation  by  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  white  man;  of  strong  friend- 
ships between  missionaries  and  native 
chiefs ;  of  one  chief  in  search  of  a  mission- 
ary finding  a  missionary  in  search  of  a 
people,  and  of  another  chief  advancing  a 
gift  of  200.  cows  upon  the  proposal  to  es- 
tablish a  mission  for  his  tribe.  It  is  the 
story  of  the  winning  of  the  Zulus,  one  of 
the  finest  of  the  South  African  tribes;  of 
their  remarkable  advance  toward  self- 
support  in  their  churches,  and  of  their  mis- 
sionary labors  for  others.  It  is  the  story  of 
Robert  Moffat,  of  David  Livingstone,  and 
of  John  Mackenzie,  of  the  conversion  of 
Africaner  with  his  Hottentots,  of  Sebi- 
tuane  with  his  Makololos,  and  of  Khama 
with  his  Bechuanas.  Again,  it  is  the  story 
of  British  colonial  expansion  to  Central 
Africa,  aided  by  the  missionary  statesman- 
ship of  Mackenzie.  It  is  the  story  of  mis- 
sionary advance  as  far  as  Lake  Tangan- 
yika toward  the  heart  of  the  continent.  It 
is  the  story  of  changes  in  social  and  in- 
dustrial conditions  among  the  natives, 
which  have  been  wrought  through  the 
agency  of  such  institutions  as  the  Lovedale 
Industrial  Mission.     It  is  the  storv  of  na- 


Native 
Evangrelism 


1 86     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

tive  Christians  giving  over  $22,000  in  six 
years '  time  for  the  founding  and  extension 
of  Blythswood  Mission/  and  of  saying  to 
the  missionaries  as  they  piled  their  first 
contribution  of  $7,500  on  the  table,  ^ '  There 
are  the  stones ;  now  build ! ' '  And  it  is  the 
story  of  the  zeal  of  Basuto  Christians  for 
the  cause  of  home  missions. 

Asser.  a  native  evangelist,  inspired  the 
Basuto  movement.  He  had  done  some  mis- 
sionary work  among  the  Banyai.  In  one 
of  his  stirring  appeals  to  his  own  people 
in  their  behalf  he  cried,  ^ '  Oh,  why  could  I 
not  cut  off  my  arms  and  my  legs  and  make 
every  limb  of  mine  a  missionary  to  these 
poor  Banyai!'^  ''Enough  talking,''  said 
an  old  man  at  one  of  the  meetings,  "let  us 
do  something,''  and  he  placed  a  modest 
contribution  upon  the  communion  table. 
The  people  enthusiastically  emulated  his 
example.  They  pressed  forward  with  their 
offerings  until  the  sum  of  $2,500  had  been 
consecrated  to  the  opening  of  the  mission. 
Men  and  women  volunteered  for  the  work. 
Although  their  plan  for  the  Banyai  failed, 
these  volunteers  did  not  turn  back,  but  ac- 
companied Coillard,  their  missionary,  to 
the   country  of  the   Barotsi,   a  thousand 

^James  Stewart,  Dawn  in  the  Dark  Continent. 


The  Religion  of  Light  187 

miles  from  home.  Just  on  the  border  of 
Barotsiland,  Eleazer,  one  of  the  evangel- 
ists, died.  ^'God  be  blessed!''  he  ex- 
claimed, when  he  knew  that  he  must  give 
up  his  heart's  desire  of  preaching  Christ 
to  the  Barotsi,  ^  ^  God  be  blessed !  The  door 
is  open.  My  grave  will  be  a  finger-post  of 
the  mission." 

The  initial  impulse  for  most  of  the  early  ^^««*  c«>««*  ^ 

^  ^  •'      Missions  and 

missions  of  the  West  Coast^  was  intimately  African  slaves 
associated  with  interest  aroused  by  Afri- 
can slaves  in  Christian  lands,  a  large  pro- 
portion of  whom  had  been  taken  from  that 
section  of  the  continent.  Aside  from  the 
obligation    of    Christians    to    the    whole 

'Although  in  these  pages  attention  is  especially 
directed  to  the  black  races,  the  work  of  Christian 
missions  in  the  Madeira  Islands  should  be  mentioned. 
Dr.  R.  R.  Kalley  (1838-46)  was  the  heroic  founder  of 
the  mission  to  the  Portuguese  peasants.  He  had  won 
above  a  thousand  to  the  Protestant  faith  before  his 
home,  library,  and  dispensary  were  destroyed  and  he 
himself  was  driven  from  the  Madeiras  by  Ra- 
man Catholic  persecution.  Because  of  continued 
brutal  treatment  from  the  same  source  more  than  the 
original  number  of  converts  have  been  forced  to  leave 
their  homes  in  the  islands  during  succeeding  years. 
In  addition  to  the  mission  to  the  Portuguese,  a  Sail- 
ors' Rest  and  also  a  Missionaries'  Home,  where,  in  one 
of  the  most  healthful  of  climates,  all  missionaries  to 
Africa  may  find  refreshment,  are  maintained.  The 
success  and  enlargement  during  the  last  quarter  cen- 
tury of  all  this  Madeira  work  have  been  due  to  the 
earnest  persistence  of  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  W.  G.  Smart. 
For  sketch  of  work  in  the  Madeiras  see  Story  of 
Ma(i€ira,  by  Delia  Dimmitt. 


1 88      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

heathen  world  it  had  begun  to  be  recog- 
nized tliat  that  obligation,  so  far  as  it  re- 
lated to  Africa,  was  intensified  in  propor- 
tion to  the  incalculable  crimes  of  civiliza- 
tion against  Africa's  people.  This  recog- 
nition had  been  tardy  in  coming.  The 
sable  sons  of  the  continent  which  sheltered 
the  persecuted  Redeemer  had  waited  vainly 
through  long  centuries  to  receive  his  gos- 
pel. Meanwhile,  Christian  peoples  had 
surged  in  the  Crusades  to  the  rescue  of  an 
empty  tomb.  They  had  crossed  the  seas 
for  the  riches  of  the  new  world.  They  had 
sailed  around  Africa  for  the  spices  of  In- 
dia. But  what  little  of  the  gospel  they  had 
carried  to  the  Africans  they  had  discounted 
by  enslaving  them. 
Colonies  for  Still,  tMs  awful  traffic  was  overruled  for 

Freedmen 

the  good  of  Africa.  The  tragedy  and 
pathos  of  slavery  burned  into  the  con- 
sciences of  Christian  people.  The  slave 
with  his  manacled  hands  pleaded  in  panto- 
mime for  the  manacled  souls  of  his  race. 
It  was  to  the  unconscious  appeal  of  the 
slave  that  Christian  philanthropy  re- 
sponded with  the  Sierra  Leone  and  Liberia 
colonies  for  freedmen.  The  providing  of 
pastors  for  the  colonists  inspired  the  am- 
bition to  Christianize  their  Pagan  kinsmen. 


The  Religion  of  Light 


89 


Thus  in  1796  several  British  Nonconform- 
ist societies  were  led  to  establish  missions 
in  Sierra  Leone.  The  Church  Missionary 
Society  followed  in  1804.  Liberia  was  like- 
wise the  magnet  that  attracted  American 
Protestant  societies  to  open  work  between 
1833  and  1836.    The  organization  of  one  of 


these  latter  societies  was  inspired  by  the 
missionary  zeal  of  a  Negro  ;^  the  work  of 
another  was  not  only  inspired,  but  for  a 
time  entirely  supported  by  Negro  Chris- 
tians." 

It  was  but   a   natural  sequence   of  the  EitensIoZ 

^Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church, 

■'  The  missionary  society  which  was  the  forerunner 
of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Union. 


Advance  to 
tbe  Interior 


190     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

evangelization  of  the  Pagans  in  touch  with 
the  colonists  of  Sierra  Leone  and  Liberia 
that  missions  should  extend  to  other  sec- 
tions of  the  West  Coast.  Sierra  Leone, 
Liberia,  the  Ivory  Coast,  the  Gold  Coast, 
the  Slave  Coast,  Lagos,  Yoruba,  Calabar, 
the  Niger,  Kamerun,  Gabun,  the  Congo,  and 
Angola  indicate  in  the  main  the  order  of  the 
beginnings  of  West  Coast  missions.  The 
advance  was  slow,  and  the  comparatively 
few  stations  appeared  as  faint  candles  in 
the  midst  of  thick  darkness.  The  introduc- 
tion of  ''civilized"  vice  was  not  slow,  how- 
ever. On  the  West  Coast  particularly  its 
influence  has  produced  most  baneful  re- 
sults. Nowhere  else  has  the  trade  in  slaves, 
guns,  gunpowder,  and  gin  been  so  destruc- 
tive. Yet, in  spite  of  all  obstacles,  native  and 
foreign,  some  districts,  pre-eminently  Old 
Calabar,  have  been  most  radically  trans- 
formed from  pandemoniums  of  licentious- 
ness, witchcraft,  murder  societies,  and  kin- 
dred evils,  to  orderly  communities  domi- 
nated by  Christian  sentiment. 

Within  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century  the  various  isolated  missions  along 
the  long  stretch  of  the  West  Coast  became 
a  more  continuous  line  of  light,  through  the 
addition    of    intermediate    stations;    and 


The  Religion  of  Light  191 

from  this  line  determined  efforts  were 
made  to  reach  and  win  the  interior.  Up 
the  Niger,  the  Ogowe,  the  Congo,  and  the 
Quanza  missionaries  pushed  toward  the 
inland  peoples.  The  Kansas  of  the  west- 
ern Sudan,  the  Congo  tribes  as  far  as 
2,000  miles  up  the  great  river  and  the  table- 
land tribes  across  Angola  and  the  divide 
between  the  Congo  and  Zambezi  rivers  to 
the  Garenganze  country  have  been  touched, 
and  some  sections  have  been  wonderfully 
illumined  by  the  gospel. 

Although  not  meeting  with  much  appar- 
ent success,  there  have  been  a  few  attempts 
to  do  missionary  work  among  the  Pygmies. 
S.  P.  Verner,  of  the  Kassai  mission  in  the 
Congo  basin,  who  has  had  the  best  oppor- 
tunity of  any  missionary  of  studying  the 
Pygmies  and  of  testing  their  readiness  to 
receive  instruction,  has  found  them  ^'very 
slow  to  comprehend  or  act  upon  Christian 
principles.'^  Still,  he  believes  that  ^'they 
have  souls  with  light  enough  in  them  to 
see  the  way  to  their  spiritual  improvement 
and  redemption."'  Melville  Frazer,-  a 
missionary  in  the  Gabun,  has  done  some 
itinerating  among  them.     He  relates  that 

^  S.  p.  Verner,  Pioneering  in  Central  Africa. 
» Melville  Frazer,  leaflet,  The  Dwarfs  at  Home. 


Among'  the 
Pygmies 


192     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

stories  illustrating*  the  love  of  God  and  the 
sacrifice  of  Christ  interest  them  very  much. 
A  company  to  whom  he  spoke  appreciated 
particularly  the  incident  of  the  little  man 
Zacchaeus  climbing  a  tree  to  see  Jesus. 
Their  own  diminutive  bodies  and  their 
monkey-like  agility  in  running  up  trees 
seem  to  have  been  thought  of  as  parallels. 
One  of  their  prayers  to  the  supreme  * '  Yer ' ' 
is  full  of  rude  pathos :  ^' Yea,  if  thou  dost 
really  exist,  why  dost  thou  let  us  be  slain? 
We  ask  thee  not  for  food,  for  we  live  only 
on  snakes,  ants,  and  mice.  Thou  hast  made 
us;  why  dost  thou  let  us  be  trodden 
downr'' 
North  African  The  story  of  North  African  missions  is 
quite  different  from  that  of  either  South  or 
West  Africa.  Here  Moslem  intolerance 
renders  Christian  work  most  difficult.  It 
lias  been  with  much  hesitation,  therefore, 
that  the  few  Protestant  societies  operat- 
ing in  North  Africa  have  undertaken  their 
work.  One  of  these  established  a  mission 
in  Egypt  in  1825,'  another  in  1854,"  and 
still  another  began  labors  in  Algeria  in 
1881.*    Thus  at  intervals  of  a  quarter  of  a 

^J.  Ludwig  Krapf,  Travels  and  Missionary  Jour- 
neys in  East  Central  Africa. 
*  Church  Missionary  Society.    ^United  Presbyterian. 
•North  Africa  Mission    (British). 


Missions 


The  Religion  of  Light 


193 


century  have  Protestants  reluctantly  en- 
tered this  uninviting  field.  Comparatively 
little  has  been  accomplished  except  in 
Egypt. 

The  work  of  the  ^'American  Mission"' 
in  Egypt  is  so  distinctive  and  so  eminently 
successful  that  it  serves  as  an  example  of 
the  typical  mission  for  Coptic  and  Moham- 
medan Africa.     Notwithstanding  the  diffi- 


The  American 
Mission   in 
Egypt 


NORTH  AFRICA 

AND 
NILE  REGION. 


culties  of  the  field,  this  mission,  fifty  years 
after  its  founding,  had  25,000  adherents 
and  8,000  communicants.  Converts  and  con- 
stituency are  mostly  Copts,  but  there  is  rea- 
son for  the  hope  that  the  methods  employed 
will  win  with  Mohammedans  whenever  con- 
verts from  Islam  can  be  assured  of  protec- 
tion against  the  violence  of  Moslems. 

^  United  Presbyterian. 


194     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 
promfnenc*'  rj^jjg  succoss  of  the  missioii  is  attributed 

of  Rdncatlunal 

Work.  to  the  prominence  given  to  its  educational 

feature,  a  feature  which  peculiarly  meets 
the  problem  presented  by  both  (Jox^tic  and 
Mohammedan  ignorance  and  bigotry.  The 
Assiut  Training  College  is  the  center  of 
this  educational  work.  Teachers  trained 
there  are  to  be  found  in  the  day  schools  of 
almost  every  village  of  the  Lower  Nile.  The 
enrollment  in  these  schools  reached  14,000 
in  1905.  The  son  of  one  Mohammedan  gov- 
ernor is  reported  as  being  in  attendance.  It 
has  been  said,  and  evidently  with  justifiable 
enthusiasm,  that  the  Training  College 
alone  ^'has  done  more  for  the  uplifting  of 
Egypt's  millions  than  any  other  one 
force. ' ' 

voianleem  ^^^  orgauizatiou  at  the  Training  College 

which  answers  to  a  Student  Volunteer 
Band  in  1905  numbered  seventy-nine  active 
members.  As  many  as  201  students  all  told 
have  been  volunteers,  161  of  whom  were 
engaged  in  definite  Christian  work  in  1905. 
8ome  of  these  have  gone  as  far  into  the  in- 
terior as  the  Pjgyx)tian  Sudan.  The  fact  is 
the  more  signifi(;ant  when  it  is  understood 
that  every  volunteer  enters  upon  Christian 
service  at  a  small  salary,  when  he  could  en- 
ter the  government  service  at  a  large  sal- 


AMERICAN    MISSION    TRAINING    COLLEGE.     ASSIUT.  EGYPT 

THE    STUDENT     VOLUNTEER     BAND 
•TUOCNTt    FORMINQ    TO    ENTER    CHAHEL 


Amount  of 
Literature 


The  Religion  of  Light  195 

ary/  The  zeal  of  these  young  men  gives 
occasion  for  a  hopeful  view  of  the  future. 
It  means  that  the  Christianization  of  the 
Coptic  church  is  but  the  preparation  for  the 
speedier  conversion  of  North  Africa. 

The  amount  of  Christian  literature  sold 
in  Egypt  by  the  mission  indicates  a  wide-  Distributed 
spread  influence.  Since  1854  over  1,000,000 
volumes  have  been  sold,  at  a  total  sum  of 
$200,000.  The  sales  are  now  running  above 
100,000  volumes,  at  $20,000  annually.  The 
measure  of  such  an  influence  is  beyond  com- 
putation, and  there  is  warrant  for  believing 
that  the  consequent  enlightenment  will 
mean  a  great  ingathering  from  Mohamme- 
dans as  well  as  from  Copts. 

That  there  are  many  Moslems  who  would 
readily  accept  Christianity  if  religious  lib- 
erty were  granted  them  is  positively 
known.  Dr.  Watson,  who  has  lived  in  touch 
with  the  problem  for  more  than  forty 
years,  says  that  every  American  mission- 
ary has  personal  acquaintance  with  Mo- 
hammedans whOy  in  secret,  avow  their  dis- 
belief in  Mohammedanism  and  confess 
their  belief  in  Christianity.  They  are  only 
prevented   from    an   open   profession   by 

^Thornton  B.  Penfield,  "The  Students  of  the  Le- 
vant," in  The  Inter  collegian,  May,  1905. 


Mobammedan 
Intolerance 


196     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


Religrious 
Liberty  Would 
Mean  a  Chris- 
tian Eisrypt 


Khartmn 
and  Faslioda 
MisBloaii 


the  certain  persecution  which  would  fol- 
low. 

Mohammedan  fanaticism  is  so  desperate 
that  men  will  compass  the  death  of  their 
own  brothers,  either  by  open  violence  or 
by  secret  poisoning,  rather  than  see  them 
become  Christians. 

Religious  liberty  in  Egypt  would  ulti- 
mately mean  a  Christian  Egypt.  When 
the  British  occupied  the  land  in  1882  the 
number  of  Moslem  inquirers  became  so 
large  that  a  general  ingathering  seemed 
imminent.  ^'All  through  Egypt  Moham- 
medan inquirers  appeared  in  considerable 
numbers.''^  It  was  naturally  supposed 
that  the  British  flag  would  guarantee  free- 
dom from  religious  persecution.  But  the 
British  government  chose  not  to  interfere. 
The  result  was  that  the  promising  move- 
ment toward  Christianity  was  soon  checked. 

Since  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury the  American  Mission  has  extended 
its  efforts  into  the  Egyptian  Sudan,  estab- 
lishing missions  at  Khartum  and  Fashoda, 
over  2,000  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Nile.  In  1904  the  work  at  Fashoda  called 
forth  the  highest  praise  from  the  British 
governor-general. 
^  Andrew  Watson,  The  American  Mission  in  Egypt. 


The  Religion  of  Light  197 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  a  mission  possessed  winnVng  **^  *** 
of  as  wise  a  management  as  that  of  the  Abyssinia 
one  which  has  won  such  success  among  the 
Copts  and  Mohammedans  of  Egypt  may 
enter  Abyssinia/  The  return  to  the  true 
faith  of  that  virile  race  which  for  so  many 
centuries  defended  its  mutilated  form  of 
Christianity  against  Paganism  and  Mo- 
hammedanism would,  as  suggested  con- 
cerning the  relation  of  Coptic  Christianity 
to  North  Africa,  be  certain  to  be  an  event 
of  great  significance  as  regards  the  con- 
version of  East  and  Central  Africa.  In 
522  the  Abyssinians  undertook  the  deliver- 
ance of  fellow-Christians  across  the  Red 
Sea  from  the  persecution  of  the  Jews. 
What  might  not  be  expected,  then,  if  this 
superior  people  were  delivered  from  the 
thraldom  of  a  mere  form  of  religion  and 
led  into  the  living  faith  and  the  glorious 
liberty  of  the  pure  gospel? 

It  was  not  until  1844  that  Protestant  mis-  East  African 

Missions 

sions  were  attempted  on  the  East  Coast. 
The  new  enterprise,  which  was  destined  to 

'The  Swedish  mission  has  extended  its  work  from 
the  Red  Sea  coast  lands  into  Gallaland.  The  officer 
next  to  the  Emperor  welcomed  the  missionary  to  the 
Gallas  with  the  words,  "The  Bible  is  common  to  us 
all.  Go  your  way  and  teach  it."  Missionary  Review, 
June,  1905. 


198       Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

achieve  such  splendid  results,  but  in  which 
so  many  noble  lives  were  to  be  sacrificed, 
most  fittingly  had  as  its  pioneer  represen- 
tative the  heroic  John  Ludwig  Krapf .  For 
over  a  third  of  a  century  there  was  prac- 
tically no  response  from  the  natives  to  the 


EAST  AFRICA. 


Missionary 
Heroism 


magnificent  devotion  of  the  missionaries. 
Then  the  mission  to  Uganda  was  inaugu- 
rated, Alexander  M.  Mackay  becoming  the 
leader  of  the  Christian  assault  upon  the 
Paganism  of  that  most  important  East 
Central  African  kingdom. 
Events  of  the  years  intervening  between 


The  Religion  of  Light  199 

the  arrival  of  Krapf  on  the  East  Coast  and 
the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century  present 
a  chapter  of  almost  unparalleled  heroism 
and  achievement  on  the  part  of  mission- 
aries. The  exami3les  of  blind  ^'Old  Reb- 
mann,"  for  twenty-nine  years,  without  fur- 
lough, and  most  of  the  time  alone,  keeping 
together  his  class  of  twelve,  and  of  Mac- 
kay,  standing  by  his  persecuted  converts, 
the  one  surrendering  eyesight,  the  other 
life  (though  both  men  had  been  frequently 
summoned  home),  that  the  work  begun 
might  be  sustained  until  reinforcements 
should  arrive,  are  a  type  of  all. 

As  a  fruitage  of  the  sublime  living  of 
East  African  missionaries,  Uganda  has  be- 
come a  synonym  for  extraordinary  mis- 
sionary success.  Moreover,  the  work  in 
this  kingdom  seems  to  have  set  the  pace 
for  a  most  remarkable  group  of  missions ; 
for,  like  Uganda,  the  Universities',  Blan- 
tyre,  Livingstonia,  and  London  Society 
missions  in  the  lake  district  further  to 
the  south,  represent  the  highest  degree  of 
missionary  statesmanship,  efficiency,  and 
success. 

The    five    great  East  African  missions  ^pfr^irbyTiv 
named,  like  others  in  other  sections  of  the  ^^s^ton^ 
continent,  were  inspired    by  Livingstone. 


Ugranda  a 
Type 


A   Colossal 
Sacrifice 


200     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

Their  founding  and  subsequent  success  sug- 
gest the  mighty  significance  of  his  life  and 
death  for  Africa.  It  was  Henry  Drum- 
mond  who  said  that  a  score  of  forward 
movements  could  be  directly  traced  to  Liv- 
ingstone. The  great  interest  aroused  by 
his  travels  flamed  into  action  under  the  in- 
fluence of  his  addresses,  writings,  and 
death.  Impelled  as  by  a  common  impulse, 
missions  pushed  inland,  and  there  Christi- 
anity has  had  its  greatest  successes. 

Thus  in  the  nineteenth  century  did  God, 
the  Master  of  Missions,  first  draw  a  cor- 
don of  light-bearers  around  the  Dark  Con- 
tinent, south,  west,  north,  and  east,  and 
then,  as  if  the  advance  upon  the  interior 
had  been  too  long  delayed,  he  thrust  David 
Livingstone  into  the  darkness  of  the  cen- 
tral  regions,  that  upon  an  altar  high  and 
lifted  up — the  more  conspicuous  because  of 
its  isolation — a  sacrifice  so  colossal  might 
set  the  civil,  commercial,  and  especially  the 
missionary  forces  of  the  world  on  the 
march  for  Africa's  enlightenment. 


The  Religion  of  Light  201 


QUESTIONS  FOR  CHAPTER  VI. 

Aim:     To  Determine  the  Teaching  of  Histoey  fob 
THE  Present  Day. 

I . . .  The  lost  opportunity  of  the  early  Church. 

1  What  contact  of  Africa  with  the  gospel   do  we 

find  in  the  Bible? 

2  How  did  Africa  respond  to  the  earliest  preaching? 

3  What  sort    of   missionary    spirit   had    the   early 

African  Church? 

4  What  success  did  it  attain  with  the  Negroes  and 

in  Abyssinia? 

5  What  causes  destroyed  the  missionary  spirit  of 

the  African  Church? 

6  How  did  the  Negro  as  compared  with  the  Caucas- 

ian Church  resist  Islam? 

7  What  was  there  in  the  Coptic  Church  to  attract 

or  inspire  its  followers? 

8  What  do  you  think  would  have  become  of  you  in 

such  a  lifeless  atmosphere,  and  with  such  pres- 
sure from  without? 
9*  Sum  all  that  has  been  lost  to  the  Christian 
Church  by  the  lack  of  aggressiveness  in  its 
North  African  representatives  long  ago. 
10*  What  will  the  lack  of  missionary  spirit  in  Chris- 
tians to-day  cost  the  Church  of  the  future? 

11  Do  you  think  that  Africa  would  have  remained 

sealed  to  Christendom  for  a  thousand  years  if 
churches  had  been  planted  in  Central  Africa  in 
the  early  centuries? 

11... Effort  and  progress  in  different  sections. 

12  What  were  the  causes  of  the  decay  of  early  Ro- 

man Catholic  missions? 

13  Is  quantity  or  quality  most  important  in  mission- 

ary work. 


202     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

14  What  were  the  causes  of  the  success  of  Carey  and 

Mills? 

15  What  do  you  think  these  men  would  undertake  if 

they  were  living  to-day? 

16  Where  and  by  whom  were  the  first  modern  Afri- 

can missions  started? 

17*  Were  the  diflBculties  greater  or  less  than  those  at 
the  present,  and  in  what  way? 

18*  For  what  reasons  is  it  a  good  commercial  invest- 
ment for  a  nation  to  support  missions? 

19  Give  four  names  of  great  South  African  mission- 

aries, with  something  connected  with  the  life  of 
each. 

20  What  had  slavery  to  do  with  the  establishment  of 

missionary  work? 

21  Indicate  the  spread  of  missions  on  the  West  Coast. 

22  How  has  effort  there  been  rewarded? 

23  What  is  the  chief  difficulty  as  to  missionary  work 

in  North  Africa? 
24*  What  preparatory  work  is  necessary  in  such  a 

field  before  we  have  any  right  to  expect  results? 
25*  What  help  will  the  evangelization  of  the  Copts 

be  to  work  among  the  Moslems? 

26  To  what  is  the  success  of  the  American  Mission 

in  Egypt  mainly  due? 

27  Give  three  names  of  East  African  missionaries 

and  tell  something  significant  connected  with 
each. 

28  What  great  missionary  principle  does  the  life  of 

Livingstone  teach? 
29*  Sum  up  in  review  the  principal  needs  of  Africa. 
30*  Sum  up  the  principal  difiiculties. 
31*  Sum  up  the  resisons  for  encouragement. 


The  Religion  of  Light  203 


References  fob  Papers  or  Talks. 

I . . .  Apologetics. 

Bryce — Impressions  of  South  Africa,  Ch.  XXII. 
Dennis — Christian    Missions    and    Social   Progress, 

Vol.  II,  pp.  176-208. 
Johnston — The  Colonization  of  Africa,  Ch.  VIII. 
Liggins — The  Great  Value  and  Success  of  Foreign 

Missions,  pp.  31-48. 
Mullins— The  Wonderful  Story  of  Uganda,  Ch.  XIII. 
Noble— Redemption  of  Africa,  pp.  683-720. 
Stewart — Dawn   in  the   Dark  Continent,   Chs.   XI, 

XII. 
Warneck — Modern  Missions  and  Culture,  pp.   149- 

211. 

II. .  .Mohammedanism. 
Kerr — Pioneering  in  Morocco,  183-228. 
Lane — The  Modern  Egyptians,  Chs.  I,  II,  III,  IVo 
Shedd — Islam  and  Oriental  Churches,  Ch.  IV. 
Stewart — Dawn  in  the  Dark  Continent,  pp.  46-58. 
Vincent— Actual  Africa,  pp.  3,  7,  14,  38,  127,  508. 


HERALDS   OF    THE    DAWN 


It  is  something  to  be  a  missionary.  The  morning 
stars  sang  together  and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted 
for  joy  when  they  saw  the  field  which  the  first  mis- 
sionary was  to  fill.  The  great  and  terrible  God,  be- 
fore whom  angels  veil  their  faces,  had  an  only  Son, 
and  He  was  sent  to  earth  as  a  Missionary  Physician. 
It  is  something  to  be  a  follower,  however  feeble,  in 
the  wake  of  the  Great  Teacher  and  only  Model  Mis- 
sionary that  ever  appeared  among  men,  and  now  that 
He  is  head  over  all  things,  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of 
lords,  what  commission  is  equal  to  that  which  the 
missionary  holds  from  Him?  May  I  venture  to  invite 
young  men  of  education,  when  laying  down  the  plan 
of  their  lives,  to  take  a  glance  at  that  of  missionary? 
We  will  magnify  the  office!  For  my  own  part,  I  never 
cease  to  rejoice  that  God  has  appointed  me  to  such  an 
office.  — David  Livingstone. 


VII 


HERALDS  OF  THE  DAWN 


Men  are  greater  than  their  deeds.  There  ^«"  ^^^i*'* 

^  tbian  Deeds 

is  often  more  inspiration  in  the  under- 
standing of  the  spirit  of  a  man  than  of  the 
work  that  he  does.  Therefore  the  pioneers 
in  the  various  fields  of  activity  of  modern 
African  missions  are  here  presented  less 
from  the  standpoint  of  what  they  accom- 
plish than  of  what  they  are.  In  most  cases 
they  represent  the  grain  of  wheat  which 
falls  into  the  ground  and  dies  that  others 
may  reap  the  harvest.  Whatever  their  in- 
dividual achievement  or  apparent  failure, 
their  work  is  the  essential  foundation  for 
later  successes. 

The  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  pre-  ^l^na^y^xyplV 
sented  two  types  of  missionary,  the  cru- 
sader and  the  ascetic.  Tens  of  thousands 
swarmed  to  Palestine  to  rescue  the  Holy 
Sepulcher  from  the  Saracens,  or  to  Africa 
in  the  hope  of  converting  Mohammedans 
by  force  of  arms.  Thousands  also  flocked 
to  the  numerous  orders  of  unarmed  cliiv- 

207 


star  of  Modern 
Missions 


208     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

airy  and  devoted  themselves  to  the  redemp- 
tion of  captives  in  Moslem  lands  or  to  the 
direct  evangelization  of  Mohammedans. 
Tbe  Morningr  Thesc  two  typcs  of  missionary,  best  rep- 
resented by  Louis  IX  of  France,  the  pious 
crusader,  and  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  ''The 
Apostle  of  Poverty,^'  are  in  striking  con- 
trast with  Raymond  Lull,^  who  may  well 
be  called  the  morning  star  of  modern  mis- 
sions. He  was  the  one  mediaeval  mission- 
ary who  was  thoroughly  modern  in  spirit. 
His  life  was  devoted  to  Moslem  Africa.  He 
is,  therefore,  the  forerunner  of  the  Prot- 
estant pioneers  in  the  Dark  Continent.  His 
was  a  sane,  wholesome,  rugged  manhood. 
He  combined  the  rare  talents  of  "  a  power- 
ful intellect  and  loving  heart,  and  efficiency 
in  practical  things."  His  missionary 
methods  were  modern.  He  spent  nine  years 
in  most  careful  preparation.  He  mastered 
the  Arabic  language  and  literature.  When 
in  Europe  he  made  lecturing  tours  and  se- 
cured the  establishment  of  chairs  of  mis- 
sions in  the  great  universities.  When  on 
the  field  he  centered  all  missionary  eifort 
in  personal  evangelism.  "No  more  origi- 
nal missionary  has  ever  been  produced.'' 
One  is  surprised  at  Lull's  timidity  and 

*S.  M.  Zwemer,  Raymond  Lull. 


Lull's    Timid- 
ity and 
Conrase 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  209 

inspired  by  his  courage.  After  engaging 
his  passage  and  putting  his  books  on  board 
a  vessel  bound  for  Tunis  such  a  terror 
seized  him  that  he  let  the  vessel  sail  with- 
out him.  He  was  immediately  overcome 
with  remorse  for  his  weakness,  and,  al- 
though prostrated  by  nervous  fever,  begged 
to  be  taken  aboard  the  next  vessel.  Again 
his  heart  failed  him,  and  again  remorse  tor- 
tured him,  until  he  cried  out,  ''Woe  is  me  if 
I  preach  not  the  gospel."  Finding  no  rest 
of  spirit  or  recovery  of  body,  he  for  a  third 
time  faced  the  sea,  and  was  no  sooner  out  of 
sight  of  land  than  his  fever  left  him  and  he 
was  girded  with  a  mighty  courage  that 
never  forsook  him.  The  transformation  of 
Jonah  was  not  more  complete. 

Landing  at  Tunis,  Lull  proposed  a  com- 
parison of  religions,  and  the  Moslem  doc- 
tors with  happy  tolerance  gathered  about 
so  reasonable  a  Christian.  As  long  as  their 
discussion  was  nothing  more  than  a  philo- 
sophical tilt  they  broke  their  logical  lances 
in  mutual  good  humor,  but  when  Lull 
touched  upon  the  false  claims  of  Moham- 
med his  opponents  became  intolerant.  He 
was  sentenced  to  death,  but  through  the 
plea  of  an  admiring  Moslem  was  banished 
instead.    Undaunted,  he  hid  in  the  harbor 


Comparison 
of   Reliffionis 


210      Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


Type  of  Life- 
Tvork: 


and  watched  for  an  opportunity  for  fur- 
ther testimony. 

The  foregoing  is  a  type  of  Lull's  life- 
work.  The  Mohammedans  tolerated  his 
philosophical  discussions  and  seemed  to 
take  pride  in  associating  with  a  man  of  so 
remarkable  an  intellect.  But  when  philoso- 
phy arrived  at  the  point  of  Christian  ap- 
peal they  answered  with  stones,  the  dun- 
geon, or  banishment.  Even  at  the  age  of 
eighty,  when  most  men  have  retired,  his 
youthful  spirit  continued  to  spur  him  on. 
It  is  surprising  that  he  should  have  been 
permitted  to  pursue  his  aggressive  course 
beyond  fourscore  years.  His  bold  denuncia- 
tions of  Mohammed  then  resulted  in  his 
death  by  stoning. 


The    First 
Modern.  Mis- 
sionary 


The  spirit  of  the  first  of  the  modern  mis- 
sionaries to  Africa  was  typical  of  the 
church  he  represented;  for,  to  the  Mora- 
vians, missions  are  the  chief  business. 
George  Schmidt,^  having  once  undertaken 
his  work,  was  not  easily  turned  back  by 
peril  or  difficulty.  He  landed  in  Cape  Town 
July  9,  1737.  The  derision  and  contempt 
with  which  he  was  received  was  reflected 
in  the  enmity  of  the  Dutch  farmers  fifty 

'A.  C.  Thompson,  Moravian  Missions. 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  211 

miles  from  the  coast,  near  whom  he  began 
his  labors  among  the  natives.  By  the  fol- 
lowing spring  this  animosity  had  driven 
him  thirty  miles  farther  inland.  Here  he 
gathered  Hottentots  about  him  and  soon 
had  a  school  of  over  twenty-five  children. 

After  four  years  of  patient  teaching  First  convert 
Schmidt  baptized  the  first  native  Christian, 
March  31,  1742.  The  ceremony  occurred 
as  he  and  his  convert  were  returning  from 
a  trip  to  Cape  Town,  and,  like  the  first  bap- 
tism of  an  African  by  Philip  1,700  years 
before,  was  in  a  stream  by  the  wayside. 

The  faithful  and  solitary  missionary  was  schmidt  not 

•^  .     *'  Allowed  to 

not  long  allowed  to  carry  forward  his  work,  continue  woric 
Many  Hottentots  had  been  converted  after 
that  first  baptism,  and  the  opposing  fac- 
tion among  the  Dutch  did  not  favor  a  mis- 
sion which  could  show  such  results. 
Six  years,  all  told,  Schmidt  labored  on  in 
his  loneliness  at  the  station  which  after- 
ward was  called  Genadendal,  or  Vale  of 
Grace,  because  of  the  changed  lives  of  the 
natives.  By  the  end  of  this  period  Dutch 
hatred  had  grown  so  violent  that  he  was 
forced  to  return  to  Europe  (1743),  and  the 
Dutch  East  India  Company  never  permit- 
ted him  to  renew  his  work. 

Five  years  later  John  Schwalber  volun-  schwaiber 


212     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

teered  for  the  difficult  field.  He  went  out 
at  his  own  expense,  toiled  and  suffered  for 
the  Hottentots,  and  in  the  eighth  year 
among  them  died.  This  time  the  mission 
was  abandoned.  No  one  volunteered  for 
the  ill-fated  place. 
Fauure  **'  ^^  doubt  the  livcs  of  these  two  mission- 

aries were  pointed  to  as  total  failures.  The 
six  years'  service  of  one  had  closed  in  de- 
feat; the  eight  years  of  the  other  had  ended 
in  death;  there  was  no  one  to  continue 
the  work.  But  the  little  candle  which 
Schmidt  had  lighted  and  Schwalber  had 
kept  burning  still  threw  faint  beams  when, 
thirty-six  years  later,  the  mission  was  re- 
opened, never  again  to  be  discontinued.  One 
old  woman  brought  a  worn  Dutch  Bible 
which  Schmidt  had  left  with  them.  One 
man  told  how  his  father  had  bidden  the 
people  to  welcome  and  follow  those  who 
would  come  from  a  long  distance  to  "show 
Hottentots  the  narrow  way  by  which  they 
might  escape  from  the  great  fire  and  find 
God."  Later  work  has  been  built  upon 
this  waiting  foundation.  Since  then,  as  one 
has  aptly  suggested,  on  the  semi-desert 
table-lands  of  South  Africa  permanent 
transformations  have  taken  place  that  il- 
lustrate the  promise  that  ''the  wilderness 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  213 

and  solitary  place  shall  be  glad  for  them, 
and  the  desert  shall  blossom  abmidantly, 
and  rejoice  even  with  joy  and  singing/' 

John  Ludwig.  Krapf/  the  pioneer  of  it^^^t"^"^'' 
East  Coast  missions,  is  the  peer  of  the 
greatest  of  missionary  characters.  After 
several  years  of  service  under  the  Chnrch 
Missionary  Society  in  Abyssinia,  he  was 
driven  from  that  country  by  Jesuit  in- 
trigues. Proceeding  southward,  he  settled 
at  Mombasa,  on  the  East  Coast,  in  1844. 
In  1851  a  missionary  leader  said :  '*If  Af- 
rica is  to  be  penetrated  by  European  mis- 
sionaries, it  must  be  from  the  East  Coast." 
But  the  remark  was  made  seven  years  after 
Krapf  had  conceived  the  plan  and  had  set 
about  its  execution.  Standing  beside  the 
newly  made  grave  of  his  wife  and  child,  a 
few  months  after  arriving  at  Mombasa,  he 
sent  his  challenge  to  Christians  at  home. 
^^  There  is  now  on  the  East  African  Coast 
a  lonely  missionary  grave.  This  is  a  sign 
that  you  have  commenced  the  struggle  with 
this  part  of  the  world ;  and  as  the  victories 
of  the  church  are  gained  by  stepping  over 
the  graves  of  her  members,  you  may  be  the 
more  convinced  that  the  hour  is  at  hand 

^John  Ludwig  Krapf,   Travels  and  Missionary  LOr 
dors  in  East  Africa. 


214     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


Missionary 
Explorations 


Difflcnlties 


when  you  are  summoned  to  the  conversion 
of  Africa  from  its  eastern  shore. ' '  With  the 
same  thought  Rosina  Krapf  had  requested 
that  her  body  be  buried  on  the  mainland 
instead  of  on  the  island  of  Mombasa. 

Krapf  was  joined  by  Eebmann  in  1846, 
and,  being  *' pressed  in  spirit,"  he  with  his 
fellow  worker  began  the  series  of  mission- 
ary explorations  which  resulted  in  the  dis- 
covery of  the  mountains  Kilima-Njaro  and 
Kenia.  From  reports  of  traders  the  mis- 
sionaries also  gathered  that  there  was  a 
great  inland  sea  a  few  hundred  miles  to 
the  west.  Krapf  likewise  hit  upon  the  cor- 
rect theory — proved  several  years  later — 
that  the  sources  of  the  Nile  and  the  Congo 
would  be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  this  in- 
land sea.  Soon  the  scientific  explorations 
began  which  resulted  in  that  marvelous 
series  of  discoveries  of  lakes  and  river 
courses,  which  in  turn  led  to  the  unprece- 
dented missionary  movement  into  Central 
Africa.  The  initial  impulse  and  many  sub- 
sequent impulses  toward  the  wonderful 
consummation  were  given  by  this  mission- 
ary, ''who  never  turned  his  back,  but 
marched  breast  forward. ' ' 

Meantime,  difficulties  increased  in 
Krapf 's  missionary  work.    If  he  made  a 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  215 

tour  to  establish  a  new  station  he  was  set 
upon  and  robbed,  his  attendants  were  scat- 
tered and  killed,  and  he  himself  was  made 
a  fugitive  in  a  land  of  savages.  At  one  time 
he  was  reduced  to  such  straits  as  "to  eat 
gunpowder,  and  the  next  day  to  ''break  his 
fast"  upon  ants.  If  reinforcements  ar- 
rived, the  station  soon  became  a  hospital. 
"Our  God  bids  us  first  build  a  cemetery 
before  we  build  a  church  or  dwelling-house, 
showing  us  that  the  resurrection  of  East 
Africa  must  be  effected  by  our  own  destruc- 
tion." 

Krapf 's  one  great  vision  was  an  "Apos-  strVet^ 
tie  Street"  of  stations  from  east  to  west 
across  the  continent,  also  one  from  north 
to  south,  with  each  principal  station  named 
after  an  Apostle.  At  first  he  was  confident 
of  accomplishing  his  cherished  hope,  but 
it  was  not  many  years  before  he  reconciled 
himself  to  hope  deferred.  "The  idea  of 
a  chain  of  missions  will  yet  be  taken  up  by 
succeeding  generations  and  carried  out; 
for  the  idea  is  always  conceived  tens  of 
years  before  it  comes  to  pass.  This  idea  I 
bequeath  to  every  missionary  coming  to 
East  Africa.  .  .  .  Our  sanguine  expec- 
tations and  hopes  of  immediate  success 
may  be  laid  in  the  grave,  like  Lazarus,  yet 


2i6     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

they  shall  have  a  resurrection,  and  our  eyes 
shall  see  the  glory  of  God  at  last.''  Pro- 
phetic utterance !  He  lived  to  see  the  mis- 
sion established  in  Uganda,  and  while  many 
were  questioning  over  the  early  disasters, 
his  voice  rang  true  and  with  ever  charac- 
teristic fire:  ''Though  many  missionaries 
may  fall  in  the  fight,  yet  the  survivors  will 
pass  over  the  slain  into  the  trenches 
and  take  this  great  African  fortress 
for  the  Lord.  ...  Be  mindful  of 
the  memorable  words  spoken  by  the 
French  Guard  at  the  battle  of  Water- 
loo: 'The  Guard  does  not  surrender — it 
dies.'  " 
carryinsr  Out        "We  arc  but  uow   (1899)   carrvinsT  out 

Krapf's   Scheme  \ 

the  scheme  which  Krapf  suggested,"  says 
Eugene  Stock.^  Indeed,  with  the  Congo 
missions  approaching  those  from  the  east, 
and  with  the  Xile  missions  almost  meeting 
those  from  the  south,  a  great  cross  is  being 
roughly  described  by  transcontinental  sta- 
tions that  would  thrill  the  rugged  soul  of 
Krapf  with  enthusiasm. 

Krapf  labored,  and  others  have  entered 
into  his  labors.  He  seemed  destined  only 
to  clear  the  way  in  thought  and  action  for 
others  to  follow.     All  the  great  Central 

^History  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society. 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  217 

African  explorers,  including  Livingstone, 
were  inspired  by  his  discoveries. 

In  1817,  Robert  Moffat/  a  young  man  of  ^,^^^7 
twenty-two,  entered  upon  his  fifty-three 
years  of  service  for  South  Africa.  Early  in 
his  pioneer  experience  he  pushed  north- 
ward into  what  was  then  wilderness,  and 
joining  another  missionary  entered  the 
country  of  the  Bechuanas. 

The  field  was  a  difficult  one.  The  people  ^^J'/d®*'"*' 
cared  nothing  for  the  missionaries,  nor  for 
what  they  had  to  tell  them.  Their  Pagan 
customs  were  more  to  their  liking,  and  ac- 
cording to  their  mood  they  were  scornful 
or  revengeful  toward  the  representatives 
of  the  new  religion.  They  ridiculed  the 
idea  that  any  of  them  could  ever  believe 
the  strange  teaching,  and  they  robbed  the 
newcomers  of  what  small  possessions  they 
had.  Winning  them  evidently  was  destined 
to  require  a  long  siege  upon  their  fortress 
of  Pagan  self-satisfaction :  no  open  arms 
here;  no  waiting  hearts,  eager  for  the 
^*  God-palaver.'' 

Moffat  was  the  right  man  for  the  place.  ^^  ^of We 

Xothing  discouraged  him,  nothing  baffled  piace 

him.     He  was  possessed  of  an  unceasing 

^  John  S.  Moffat,  Robert  and  Mary  Moffat;  David  J. 
Deane,  Robert  Moffat. 


Varied 
Experleiiees 


2 1 8      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

purpose  to  do  without  flinching  what  he 
believed  God  intended  he  should  do.  He 
had  been  instrumental  in  preventing  some 
savage  practice,  and  the  angry  chief  and 
his  picked  men  came  to  demand  that  the 
missionaries  leave  the  country.  They  were 
armed,  and  it  was  evident  that  they  meant 
mischief.  Moffat  stood  fearlessly  before 
them,  closing  his  reply  to  their  demands 
with  the  words,  "Our  hearts  are  with  you." 
Then  he  added,  as  he  bared  his  breast,  ^Mf 
you  will,  drive  your  spears  to  my  heart; 
and  when  you  have  slain  me  my  compan- 
ions will  know  that  the  hour  has  come  for 
them  to  depart."  Such  bravery  awakened 
in  the  savages  enough  admiration  to  cause 
them  to  leave  their  intended  victims  unmo- 
lested. "These  men  must  have  ten  lives 
when  they  are  so  fearless  of  death,"  de- 
clared the  chief  to  his  followers.  "There 
must  be  something  in  immortality." 

The  succeeding  years  were  filled  with  va- 
ried experiences.  The  country  was  con- 
tinually in  a  state  of  turmoil,  due  to  tribal 
wars.  The  mission  was  often  in  danger. 
But  the  missionaries  never  lost  courage. 
Moffat,  thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  was 
not  only  preacher,  teacher,  and  translator; 
he  was  also  doctor  and  dentist,  carpenter 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  219 

and  blacksmith.  He  went  on  the  first  of  his 
long  evangelizing  tours,  braving  both  sav- 
age beasts  and  savage  men,  while  Mrs. 
Moffat  stayed  behind  with  the  children  and 
braved  i)erils  quite  as  serious.  At  another 
time  Moffat,  bent  on  mastering  the  native 
tongue  once  for  all,  spent  several  months 
among  distant  natives,  that  he  might  not 
hear  his  own  language  spoken. 

Mary  Moffat  was  a  constant  inspiration  ^^^y  Moffat 
to  her  husband.  No  missionary  ever  had 
a  truer  heli)meet.  ^^ Robert  can  never  say 
that  I  hindered  him  in  his  work ! ' '  she  said, 
with  wifely  pride,  upon  one  occasion.  ^'No, 
indeed, ''  Moffat  assured  the  listener,  ''but 
I  can  tell  you  she  has  often  sent  me  away 
from  home  for  months  together  for  evan- 
gelizing purposes,  and  in  my  absence  has 
managed  the  station  as  well  or  better  than 
I  could  have  done  it  myself!''  Her  faith 
was  wonderful.  Many  years  after,  when 
Moffat  was  called  upon  to  give  up  the  com- 
panionship which  had  so  devotedly  been 
his,  his  heart  uttered  the  one  pathetic  cry, 
"For  fifty-three  years  I  have  had  her  to 
pray  for  me!" 

An  incident  connected  with  Mrs.  Mof-  pra7eJ^^ 
fat's  prayers  occurred  at  Kuruman,  when, 
after  eight  years  of  toiling  and  praying 


I^aying: 
Foundations 


220     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

and  waiting,  the  nucleus  of  a  church  was 
gathered.  Moffat  wisely  would  admit  to 
membership  only  such  as  had  proved  them- 
selves worthy  through  a  period  of  testing. 
They  baptized  six  and  they  partook  of  the 
first  communion  (1829).  It  was  a  memora- 
ble service.  Over  two  years  before,  when 
matters  had  seemed  almost  as  hopeless  as 
at  the  beginning,  Mrs.  Motfat  had  written 
to  a  friend  in  England  who  had  inquired 
whether  there  was  not  some  special  gift 
she  would  like:  ^'Send  us  a  communion 
service;  we  shall  want  it  some  day."  The 
communion  service  reached  the  mission  the 
day  before  that  first  celebration  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  by  the  native  Christians. 
It  was  a  happy  providence.  It  was  the 
token  of  answered  prayer.  It  was  an  added 
link  binding  Christian  England  to  the 
Christian  Africa  to  be. 

After  the  baptism  of  these  converts  Rob- 
ert and  Mary  Moffat  for  forty-one  years 
continued  to  lay  the  foundations  of 
Christianity  in  Bechuanaland.  There  were 
more  helpers  as  time  went  on,  but  Moffat 
was  the  leader  always.  He  was  at  the  head 
and  in  the  heart  of  the  work.  He  gave  the 
people  first  one,  then  all  of  the  gospels; 
then  the  whole  New  Testament    and    the 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  221 

Psalms;  and  finally  the  entire  Bible,  in 
their  own  language.  The  natives  learned 
to  trust  him.  The  chiefs  confided  in  him. 
At  times  when  new  stations  were  to  be 
started  it  was  he  who  went  to  negotiate 
with  the  chiefs  and  to  see  that  the  mission- 
aries were  well  received  and  comfortably 
housed. 

Moffat's  interest  in  Bechuanaland  was  Monat^s 

Continued 

perennial,  and  after  his  wife's  death,  which  interest 
occurred  in  1871 — the  year  following  their 
return  to  England — he  more  than  once,  in 
spite  of  his  advanced  age,  offered  to  go  back 
to  Africa.  So  far  as  his  strength  allowed, 
however,  his  remaining  years  (he  lived 
until  1883)  were  spent  in  stirring  the  home 
churches  to  a  lively  zeal  for  African  mis- 
sions. 

He  was  a  favorite  speaker.  His  appear-  gpfaile/"* 
ance  always  aroused  great  enthusiasm.  It 
is  said  that  at  the  London  Mission  Confer- 
ence of  1878  Moffat,  then  eighty-three 
years  of  age,  held  the  close  attention  of  the 
assemblage  while,  in  ''a  voice  still  strong 
and  musical,"  he  talked  upon  his  beloved 
theme.  ''The  vast  audience,  upon  discov- 
ering Moffat's  presence,  had  risen  spon- 
taneously." The  report  of  the  occurrence 
contains  this  tribute;  ''Whom  see  we  com- 


222      Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


David 
lilvlngratone 


Into  tike 
Interior 


ing  up  the  aisle?  Who  is  the  old  man'?  Is 
it  Beaconslieldl  Is  it  Gladstone?  No. 
'Nothing  but  a  missionary.'  There  is  but 
one  other  person  in  the  realm,  I  take  it,  to 
whom  in  the  circumstances  so  united  and 
enthusiastic  a  tribute  would  be  paid — and 
to  her  because  she  is  on  the  throne.'' 

In  1840,  during  Moffat's  one  furlough 
home,  he  told  David  Livingstone^  that 
he  had  often  seen,  rising  in  the 
morning  sunlight,  the  smoke  of  a  thou- 
sand villages  where  the  gospel  had 
never  been  preached.  That  picture  of 
spiritual  darkness  was  never  effaced 
from  Livingstone's  mind.  In  1841,  having 
completed  his  medical  training,  he  reached 
South  Africa,  and  proceeded  directly  to 
the  regions  beyond  the  outmost  mission  sta- 
tion, where  for  eight  years  he  was  occupied 
with  the  labors  of  an  aggressive  mission- 
ary.' 

With  his  thought  always  upon  the  ^ '  vast 
district  to  the  north  where  no  missionary 
had  been, ' '  Livingstone  pushed  farther  and 

^W.  Garden  Blaikie,  Personal  Life  of  David  Living- 
stone; Story  of  the  London  Missionary  Society; 
Henry  M.  Stanley,  How  I  Found  Livingstone;  Living- 
stone's Works. 

*  Livingstone  upon  his  arrival  in  Africa  had  been 
made  welcome  at  the  home  of  Robert  Moffat,  and 
later  he  married  Mary  Moffat,  the  daughter. 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  223 

farther  into  the  interior,  preaching  and 
teaching  as  he  went.  Gradually  this  man 
of  vision  was  becoming  possessed  of  the 
passion  to  answer  his  own  question,  oft  re- 
peated during  the  years  of  growing  interest 
in  unexplored  Central  Africa  and  of  awak- 
ening concern  for  the  unredeemed  millions 
of  its  people :  ' '  Who  will  penetrate  through 
Africa ! '  ^  His  experience  in  the  Makololo 
country,  near  the  Zambezi  River,  settled 
him  in  a  determination  to  make  the  attempt 
himself. 

Slave  gangs  for  the  foreign  (mostly  Noumea  by 
Arab)  trade  were  continually  passing  on  siave  Trade 
their  way  to  the  coast,  and  Livingstone's 
heart  was  moved  with  a  great  pity  for  the 
sufferers  from  the  traffic,  while  his  very 
soul  was  fired  with  indignation  at  the  pro- 
moters of  it.  He  came  to  believe  that  its 
death-blow  would  be  struck  if  the  interior 
could  be  thrown  open  to  Christianity  and 
legitimate  trade. 

Livingstone's  extensive  journeys  date  i^  Journeyinars 
from  this  period.  It  was  for  the  purpose 
of  demonstrating  the  practicability  of  a 
transcontinental  caravan  route  that  in  1853 
he  undertook  the  long  and  extremely  peril- 
ous journey  from  Linyanti  to  the  West 
Coast,  and  thence,  returning  across  the  con- 


2  24     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

tinent,  to  Quilimane  on  the  East  Coast. 
Henceforth  until  his  death  in  1873  he  was 
never  at  rest.  After  1856  he  was  no  longer 
directly  connected  with  his  missionary  so- 
ciety, his  explorations  being  carried  for- 


This 

Map 

Covers 

the 
Bantu   , 
Section 
of  Africa 


Capetown 


[^•\  /fiver 
jj-   J^*-MOZAr+- 

(VICTORIA  ^ifSte^^'^,'^ 

^  \/r~~^        I  between  i+ie  periocl& 
K0LOBENG?K«<-.<aCHOt«JUAWv     °^  exploration 
LIVINGSTONES 
PRINCIPAL 
AFRICAN  JOURNEYS 

From  1841  to  1856  »» 
From  1858  to  1864  >—> 
From  1866  tol873>-> 

C.H.MORSAN 


The  Tlioiigrlit 
of  the  World 
Turned    to 
Africa 


ward  under  the  patronage  of  the  British 
Government  and  of  the  Royal  Geographical 
Society. 

The  thought  of  the  civilized  world  was 
turned  toward  the  Dark  Continent.     Liv- 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  225 

ingstone's  writings,  which  contain  vivid 
descriptions  of  the  life  and  customs  of  the 
peoples  among  whom  he  journeyed,  ap- 
pealed to  Christian  hearts  to  take  them 
the  gospel ;  his  addresses  when  in  England, 
passionate  in  their  earnestness,  appealed 
to  Christian  civilization  to  heal  the  ^^open 
sore  of  the  world"  by  stamping  out  the 
slave  trade ;  his  life,  so  unreservedly  given 
to  a  cause  which  called  out  all  of  the  hero- 
ism of  his  noble  character,  appealed  to 
every  one  everywhere  to  see  Africa  and 
her  people  as  he  saw  them.  Thus  by  over- 
reaching the  bounds  ordinarily  set  for  mis- 
sionary activity  did  he  become  the  more 
missionary  in  his  influence. 

Greatly  honored  as  was  the  missionary  Honored  and 

•^  ''      Loved   bnt 

explorer,  deeply  loved  as  was  the  man,  the  Loneiy 
loneliness  of  his  life  was  inevitable.  One 
glimpse  of  the  longing  that  sometimes 
swept  over  him  is  found  in  the  record  made 
in  his  journal  just  after  his  wife's  death. 
She  had  accompanied  him  upon  his  second 
expedition,  but  had  died  at  the  outset.  Her 
husband  laid  her  body  to  rest  under  a  great 
baobab  tree  at  Shupanga,  on  the  Zambezi. 
He  wrote:  ^^I  loved  her  when  I  married 
her,  and  the  longer  I  lived  with  her  I  loved 
her  the  more.     .     .     .     Oh,  my  Mary,  my 


Meetlngr  xvitli 
Stanley 


226      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

Mary !  how  have  we  longed  for  a  quiet  home 
since  yon  and  I  were  cast  adrift  at  Kolo- 
beng  !^  Snrely  the  removal  by  a  kind  Father 
means  that  he  rewarded  you  by  taking  you 
to  the  best  home,  the  eternal  one  in  the 
heavens/^ 

In  1871,  in  the  midst  of  the  exploration 
of  the  lake  region,  occurred  the  famous 
meeting  at  Ujiji  with  Henry  M.  Stanley. 
Stanley  had  been  commissioned  by  James 
Gordon  Bennett,  of  the  New  York  Herald, 
to  find  Livingstone  regardless  of  cost. 
^'Take  what  you  want,  but  find  Living- 
stone,'^ were  his  orders.  The  world  had 
believed  Livingstone  to  be  lost,  but  the 
world  had  simply  lost  sight  of  his  stren- 
uous life  for  several  years.  He  was  ab- 
sorbed in  a  great  undertaking,  and  his 
spirit  was  straitened  until  he  should  ac- 
complish his  purpose.  Again  his  journal  is 
the  mirror  of  the  man.  On  his  fifty-ninth 
birthday  he  wrote:  "I  again  dedicate  my 
whole  self  to  thee.    Accept  me,  and  grant, 

0  gracious  Father,  that  ere  this  year  is 
gone  I  may  finish  my  task.    In  Jesus '  name 

1  ask  it.  Amen:  so  let  it  be.  David  Liv- 
ingstone.''   After  eleven  months  of  hard- 

*  Kolobeng  was  one  of  Livingstone's  early  mission 
stations.  See  map,  page  224,  for  his  main  journeys 
and  stations. 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  227 

ship  and  suffering  Stanley  found  Living- 
stone. The  greeting  was  hearty,  but  char- 
acteristic. ''I  am  thankful  to  be  here  to 
welcome  you,"  was  his  response  to  Stan- 
ley's greeting.  It  was  not  the  response  of  a 
lost  man,  but  rather  of  one  who  was  ^^ big- 
ger than  anything  that  could  happen  to  him." 

Together  the  two  greatest  explorers  of  ^*^*"J^^" 
the  nineteenth  century  explored  Lake  Tan- 
ganyika, and  Stanley's  account  of  their 
companionship  abounds  with  expressions 
of  appreciation  of  Livingstone's  genuine 
worth.  After  taking  leave  of  him  Stanley 
says:  "For  four  months  and  four  days  I 
lived  with  him  in  the  same  hut,  or  the  same 
boat,  or  the  same  tent,  and  I  never  found 
a  fault  in  him.  I  went  to  Africa  as  preju- 
diced against  religion  as  the  worst  infidel 
in  London.  To  a  reporter  like  myself,  who 
had  only  to  deal  with  wars,  mass  meetings, 
and  political  gatherings,  sentimental  mat- 
ters were  quite  out  of  my  province.  But 
there  came  to  me  a  long  time  for  reflection. 
I  was  out  there  away  from  a  worldly  world. 
I  saw  this  solitary  old  man  there,  and  I  ask- 
ed myself,  ^  Why  does  he  stop  here  ?  What 
is  it  that  inspires  him  ? '  For  months  after 
we  met  I  found  myself  listening  to  him, 
wondering  at  the  old  man  carrying  out  the 


2  28     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


lil-vinarBtone's 
Deatb 


A    Fragrrant 
Life 


words,  *  Leave  all  and  follow  me.'  But  little 
by  little,  seeing  his  piety,  his  gentleness,  his 
zeal,  his  earnestness,  and  how  he  went 
quietly  about  his  business,  I  was  converted 
by  him,  although  he  had  not  tried  to  do  it. ' ' 

Livingstone  died  at  Chitambo,  in  Ilala, 
on  the  shores  of  Lake  Bangweolo,  May  1, 
1873.  His  black  servants  found  him  at  four 
o  'clock  in  the  morning  upon  his  knees  at  his 
bedside,  his  candle  still  burning.  The 
weariness  and  painfulness,  the  watchings, 
the  hunger  and  thirst,  the  fastings,  the  lone- 
liness, were  all  past.  Livingstone,  too,  had 
entered  the  ' '  best  home. '  '^ 

Henry  Drummond,  after  his  travels 
through  east  Central  Africa,  testified: 
^'Wherever  David  Livingstone's  footsteps 
are  crossed  in  Africa  the  fragrance  of  his 
memory  seems  to  remain. ' '  Colliard  wrote 
from  the  Barotsi  country:  ^'I  have  found 
the  traces  and  memories  of  Livingstone 
here.  ...  In  Europe  people  admired  the  in- 
trepid traveler,  but  one  must  come  here, 
where  he  has  lived,  to  admire  the  man.  If 
some  travelers  have  engraved  their  names 
on  the  rocks  and  tree  trunks,  he  has  en- 

^  Livingstone's  heart  was  buried  in  Africa.  His 
body  was  carried  by  his  faithful  servants  to  England 
and  with  much  ceremony  was  laid  to  rest  in  West- 
minster Abbey. 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  229 

graved  his  in  the  very  hearts  of  the  heathen 
population  of  Central  Africa.  Wherever 
Livingstone  has  passed  the  name  of  mis- 
sionary is  a  passport  and  recommendation. 
Whether  I  will  or  not,  I  am  Dr.  Living- 
stone's successor.  Thus  it  is  that  the  first 
missionary  that  comes  by  is  invested  with 
the  boots  of  this  giant." 

John  Mackenzie/  the  missionary  states- 
man, and  David  Livingstone,  the  mission- 
ary explorer,  in  some  respects  reflect  and 
complement  each  other.  They  began  their 
careers  under  the  London  Missionary  So- 
ciety and  among  the  Bechuanas  of  South 
Africa.  Their  intense  zeal  for  every  inter- 
est of  the  native  led  them  into  very  large 
and  useful  activities  in  addition  to  the  or- 
dinary missionary  program.  The  ''by- 
products" of  their  labors  were  of  greater 
moment  than  their  direct  missionary  en- 
deavor. Just  as  Livingstone  did  greater 
service  by  blazing  paths  through  unex- 
plored regions  than  he  possibly  could  have 
performed  in  the  usual  method  on  a  sta- 
tion, so  Mackenzie  multiplied  the  mission- 
ary significance  of  his  life  by  promoting 
the  expansion  of  British  empire  over  the 

^  W.   Douglas   Mackenzie,   John   Mackenzie,   South 
African  Missionary  and  Statesman. 


John 
Mackenzie 


230     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

regions    Livingstone    explored.     He    thus 
saved  native  states  from  annihilation  by 
the  Boers  and  ensured  thebest  colonial  rule 
in  the  world  to  vast  stretches  of  Africa. 
AAmuSmtra-  Bcfore  thc   close  of   Mackenzie's   resi- 

****''  dence  at  Shoshong/  he  had  assumed  the  re- 

sponsibility of  arbitrator  between  natives 
and  Europeans.  His  practical  suggestions 
as  to  the  administration  of  native  states 
under  British  protection  led  Sir  Bartle 
Frere,  High  Commissioner  of  South  Af- 
rica, to  urge  him  to  accept  the  office  of  Com- 
missioner of  Bechuanaland,  at  a  salary  of 
$5,000  per  year.  But  Mackenzie  was  not 
looking  for  an  office.  He  would  accept  the 
appointment  only  in  case  it  could  be  com- 
bined, as  his  unofficial  administration  had 
been,  with  his  chosen  work.  Yet,  while 
he  was  in  accord  with  the  principle  that  a 
missionary  should  keep  free  from  secular 
and  political  entanglements,  he  was  thor- 
oughly convinced  that  the  critical  state  of 
affairs  demanded  that  ''the  highest  type  of 
missionary  in  Bechuanaland  must  assist  the 
chief  with  whom  he  resides  in  political 
matters." 
A  Continental  Mackeuzic 's  visiou,  like  Livingstone's, 
was  continental.    Necessarily  his  mission- 

^  See  map,  page  184. 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  23 1 

ary  statecraft  centered  about  Bechuana- 
land,  but  the  action  concerning  that  coun- 
try would  affect  all  South  Africa,  and,  in- 
deed, all  British  Africa.  The  Boers  were 
encroaching  upon  Bechuanaland.  For  Eng- 
land to  withdraw  her  protection  would  be 
to  hand  over  another  South  African  race 
to  the  plunder  of  its  cattle  and  the  confisca- 
tion of  its  land.  Therefore,  at  a  time  when 
the  Governor  of  Cape  Colony  would  not 
send  an  exploring  expedition  northward 
(although  the  Cape  Parliament  had  made 
provision  for  it),  because  he  was  afraid  it 
might  lead  to  political  obligations  over  na- 
tive peoples;  at  a  time  when  England 
would  not  accept  Bechuanaland  as  a  free 
gift  from  her  people ;  before  Joseph  Cham- 
berlain advocated  imperial  expansion,  and 
before  Cecil  Ehodes  had  dreamed  of  his 
Cape  to  Cairo  railway,  Mackenzie  had 
pleaded :  ' '  Let  England  come  forward  and 
avowedly  take  charge  of  and  direct  the 
northward  progress  of  Europeans  in  South 
Africa.'*  He  saw  clearly  that  his  policy 
meant  the  occupation  by  England  of  as 
much  of  Africa  as  would  not  conflict  with 
other  European  powers,  but  he  longed  for 
his  nation  to  accept  the  responsibility  that 
Africa  might  reap  the  benefits. 


Political 
Educator 


232     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

When  Mackenzie  took  his  first  furlough, 
in  1883,  there  was  little  sympathy  in  Eng- 
land for  his  schemes  for  British  expansion 
northward.  Few  knew  much  about  the  sit- 
uation and  fewer  cared.  With  the  convic- 
tion that  he  was  contending  for  the  wel- 
fare of  a  continent,  he  threw  himself  into 
the  political  arena  of  England  as  an  edu- 
cator upon  territorial  expansion.  He  wrote 
articles  for  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  the  Nine- 
teenth Century,  the  Contemporary  Review 
and  other  leading  periodicals.  He  inter- 
viewed statesmen  like  John  Morley,  Lord 
Shaftesbury,  and  Mr.  Chamberlain.  He  ad- 
vised with  philanthropists  like  Dr.  Dale  and 
Sir  T.  Fowell  Buxton.  He  buttonholed 
politicians.  He  haunted  the  lobbies  of  the 
House  of  Commons  and  addressed  audi- 
ences throughout  the  land.  Except  for  a 
sliort  absence  in  South  Africa,  such  was  his 
work  from  1882  to  1891.  Had  his  policy 
been  immediately  adopted  and  vigorously 
carried  out,  as  it  was  during  his  brief  ad- 
ministration as  Deputy  Commissioner,  it 
is  morally  certain  that  much  injustice  to- 
ward the  native  and  much  bitterness  be- 
tween English  and  Boer,  and  even  the 
South  African  war  itself,  would  have  been 
avoided.    His  ' '  territorial  system ' '  of  gov- 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  233 

ernment  is  to-day  incorporated  in  the  best 
features  of  British  protectorates. 

While  Mackenzie  suffered  the  usual  ex-  RejLc^ed** 
perience  of  a  prophet — rejection  by  those 
upon  whom  the  working  out  of  his  schemes 
depended — he  saw  a  beginning  of  that  im- 
perial policy  whichj  through  much  indirec- 
tion and  consequent  bloodshed,  is  finally 
fulfilling  the  purpose  of  his  earnest  devo- 
tion as  missionary,  political  agitator,  edu- 
cator, administrator,  statesman.  Upon  his 
first  departure  for  South  Africa,  after 
arousing  England  to  her  obligation  and 
privilege,  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette  paid  him  a 
tribute  that  was  even  more  fitting  seven 
years  later,  when  he  reassumed  his  connec- 
tion with  the  London  Missionary  Society 
as  missionary  at  Hankey,  Cape  Colony.  An 
editorial  in  this  prominent  paper  extolling 
his  work  closed  with  the  words:  "Here- 
after he  will  live  in  the  annals  of  our  em- 
pire as  the  man  who,  at  a  grave  crisis, 
saved  Africa  for  England. ' ' 


In  1875  Stanley's  appeal    for  mission- 
aries to  be  sent  to  Uganda  fell  under  the 
notice  of  Alexander  Mackay,^  chief    con- 
structor in  a  great  engineering  factory  near 
^Alexander  M.  Mackay,  by  his  sister. 


Alexander  M. 
Mackay 


234     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

Berlin.  ''My  heart  burns  for  the  deliver- 
ance of  Africa, '  ^  he  immediately  wrote  the 
Church  Missionary  Society,  "and  if  you 
can  send  me  to  any  of  those  regions  which 
Livingstone  and  Stanley  have  found  to  be 
groaning  under  the  curse  of  the  slave 
hunter  I  shall  be  very  glad/'  Mackay's 
farewell  speech  to  the  Board  of  Directors  is 
characteristic.  ' '  There  is  one  thing  which 
my  brethren  have  not  said  and  which  I 
wish  to  say.  I  want  to  remind  the  commit- 
tee that  within  six  months  they  will  prob- 
ably hear  that  one  of  us  is  dead.  Yes,  is 
it  at  all  likely  that  eight  Englishmen  should 
start  for  Central  Africa  and  all  be  alive 
six  months  after!  One  of  us  at  least — it 
may  be  I — will  surely  fall  before  that. 
When  that  news  comes  do  not  be  cast  down, 
but  send  some  one  else  immediately  to  take 
the  vacant  place. ' '  Within  three  months  one 
was  dead.  Within  a  year  two  more  had 
fallen,  and  within  two  years  Mackay  was 
the  only  one  left  in  the  field.  For  twelve 
years  he  defied  fever  and  persecution,  the 
intrigues  of  Romanists  and  Mohammedans, 
the  martyrdom  of  his  converts,  and  at- 
tempts upon  his  own  life.  During  all  those 
anxious  years  he  stood  practically  alone, 
consecrating    his    mechanical    genius,  his 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  235 

acute  diplomacy,  his  splendid  scholarship, 
and  his  tireless  energy  to  an  ingrate  people. 
He  was  finally  driven  out  of  the  land  where 
only  a  scattered  following  remained.  He 
died  in  exile.  His  last  letter  responded  to 
appeals  to  give  up  and  come  home  in  a 
manner  that  fitted  his  brave  words  to  the 
committee  twelve  years  before.  "What  is 
this  you  write — '  come  home '  ?  Surely  now, 
in  our  terrible  dearth  of  workers,  it  is  not 
a  time  for  any  one  to  desert  his  post.  Send 
us  only  our  first  twenty  men,  and  I  may  be 
tempted  to  come  and  help  you  to  find 
another  twenty."  Alexander  Mackay  did 
not  live  to  see  the  fruitage  of  his 
labors,  but  he  has  an  enduring  monu- 
ment in  the  wonderful  work  of  the  Uganda 
mission. 

Melville  B.  Cox  was  an  invalid  before  he  ^ewiiie  b.  coi 
went  to  Africa.  He  had  retired  from  the 
pastorate.  Without  strength  to  preach  at 
home  his  heart  yearned  for  the  privilege  of 
at  least  laying  his  body  in  foreign  soil  that 
his  grave  might  be  one  sermon  of  the  death- 
less passion  of  the  Christ.  The  bishops  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  had  for 
seven  years  been  looking  for  a  suitable  per- 
son who  was  willing  to  go  to  Africa.    As  a 


236      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

forlorn  hope  Cox  was  appointed.  How- 
ever unsuitable  physically,  he  was  eminent- 
ly *^fit"  in  willingness  and  zeal.  *'If  I  die 
in  Africa  you  must  come  and  write  my  epi- 
taph, ' '  he  said  to  a  friend  before  going.  '  ^  I 
will,''  was  the  answer,  "but  what  shall  I 
writer'  ''Write,"  flashed  back  the  pro- 
phetic response,  ''Let  a  thousand  fall  be- 
fore Africa  be  given  up !"  Cox  arrived  in 
Liberia  Marcli  8,  1833,  and  died  July  21  of 
the  same  year.  Four  months  and  three 
weeks  of  service !  As  the  pioneer  mission- 
ary of  his  church, — 

"Right  in  the  van,  on  the  red  rampart's  slippery- 
swell. 

With  heart  that  beat  a  charge,  he  fell  forward  as  fits 
a  man; 

But  the  high  soul  burns  on  to  light  men's  feet, 

Where  death  for  noble  ends  makes  dying  sweet." 

If  it  should  be  said  that  Cox's  life  was 
wasted  the  answer  is  that  there  was  no 
longer  a  dearth  of  volunteers  for  Africa, 
for  Cox's  zeal  proved  contagious,  and  from 
that  day  to  this  his  heroic  example  has  been 
an  inspiration  to  the  church  which  he  repre- 
sented. 


Adoipima  c.  Adolphus  C.  Good  as  cheerfully  devoted 

his  splendid  physique  to  Africa  as  Cox  his 
frail  body.    For  twelve  years  (1882-94)  he 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  237 

extended  and  established  the  Presbyterian 
work  in  the  interior  of  the  Gabun.  He  com- 
bined in  a  rare  degree  the  talents  of  a  pio- 
neer, evangelist,  organizer,  and  educator. 
At  the  root  of  all  his  plans  was  faith  in  the 
native,  as  well  as  in  the  gospel  which  was 
to  save  him.  Of  his  savage  parish  he  said : 
' '  Out  of  these  rough,  unlovely  blacks  might 
be  wrought  beautiful  images  of  Christ. 
They  are  material  out  of  which  saints  may 
be  made.''  This  faith  found  expression  in 
a  masterful  character  that  dauntlessly 
faced  tremendous  obstacles.  '^The  emer- 
gency against  which  I  shall  most  carefully 
provide  is  failure,''  he  wrote  as  he  was 
planning  one  of  his  most  extended  tours. 
*^I  know  that  treasure  must  be  expended 
and  lives  sacrificed  if  this  region  is  to  be 
evangelized.  ...  If  this  journey  shall 
open  a  road  for  the  light  to  enter  this  dark 
region  into  which  I  have  penetrated  a  little 
way,  I  shall  never  regret  the  toil.  I  do  hope 
God's  people  in  America  will  see  to  it  that 
I  have  not  run  in  vain,  neither  labored  in 
vain."  In  his  last  delirium  he  would  at 
one  time  be  preaching  to  the  Bulu,  for 
whose  evangelization  he  had  overtaxed  his 
strength,  ^^  Listen  carefully,  and  we  will  tell 
you  about  Christ" ;  and  then  praying  to  the 


Samuel  Ji. 
Lapsley 


238      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

same  purpose,  ^'May  good  men  never  be 
wanting  to  carry  forward  the  work. ' ' 

The  story  of  the  life  in  Africa  of  Samuel 
N.  Lapsley,  as  his  diary  and  his  letters  tell 
it,  reads  like  a  vivid  sketch  of  a  summer 
trip  abroad.  His  is  a  case  where  ' '  genuine 
and  exalted  piety  formed  the  warp  and 
woof  of  one  of  the  sunniest  of  characters.'' 
Born  of  a  line  of  noble  Southern  ancestry, 
gifted  with  a  brilliant  mind,  fitted  by  nature 
to  move  in  the  most  select  circles,  Lapsley 's 
choice  of  his  lifework  was  based  upon  the 
fact  that  Africa  was  the  worst  field,  and 
therefore  the  most  in  need  of  missionaries. 
Sailing  from  New  York  on  February  26, 
1890,  he  went  out  to  found  the  Congo  mis- 
sion of  the  Presbyterian  Church  (South), 
the  particular  location  being  left  to  his 
judgment.  After  many  months  spent  in 
essential  preliminaries  which  included  a 
visit  to  Belgium  and  an  audience  with  the 
king,  he  at  last  began  a  settled  work  at 
Luebo,  on  the  Kassai  River,  a  most  strate- 
gic center,  as  later  developments  have 
shown.  The  young  missionary  by  this  time 
had  proved  himself  possessed  of  excep- 
tional qualities  of  leadership.  Now,  with 
even  greater  zest  because  of  his  eagerness 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  239 

to  be  about  his  Father's  business  in  the 
more  definite  way  of  soul- winning,  he  threw 
his  energies  into  building  up  the  station. 
The  future  was  full  of  promise.  He  was  be- 
ginning to  preach  in  the  native  tongue  and 
was  winning  native  confidence.  Then  there 
came  a  sudden  break.  No  more  breezy  let- 
ters. No  more  cheery  messages.  In  the 
journal  on  his  way  to  Africa  he  had  record- 
ed this  petition:  ^^Let  this  Book  be  my 
time-book ;  God  my  Time-keeper. ' '  His  life 
exemplified  half  of  that  prayer,  and  on 
March  26,  1892,  before  he  had  rounded  out 
twenty-six  years,  his  Time-keeper  called. 
The  eager,  buoyant  spirit,  absent  from  the 
body,  was  present  with  the  Lord. 

It  was  under  the  influence  of  a  rare  Sab-  Thomas  j. 
bath  school  teacher  that  Thomas  J.  Com-  "* 
ber,  an  English  lad,  resolved  to  become  a 
missionary.  Mr.  Kickard  was  the  personal 
friend  of  each  of  his  scholars.  Genuine 
himself,  he  taught  them  to  be  Christians  of 
a  hearty,  wholesome  type.  ''Mind,''  he 
would  warn  them  at  their  class  prayer 
meeting,  ''if  I  catch  you  saying  anything 
you  heard  the  minister  say  last  Sunday,  or 
repeating  the  petitions  of  a  deacon  at  the 
prayer  meeting,  I  '11  stop  you  at  once. ' '  Liv- 


240     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

ing  a  consecrated  life  himself,  he  could  ap- 
peal to  their  boyish  earnestness.  An  Easter 
morning  brought  the  lesson  of  the  Great 
Commission.  He  told  the  class  of  his  last- 
ing regret  because  he  was  not  a  missionary, 
and  then  appealed  to  them,  as  his  own  boys, 
— would  not  one  of  them  go  in  his  place,  do 
the  work  which  he  had  been  hindered  from 
doing?  There  was  no  spoken  response,  but 
Comber's  resolution  was  made.  After- 
wards, at  the  class  meetings,  his  prayer  al- 
ways included  the  petition :  *  ^  I  want  to  be 
a  missionary,  to  go  into  the  darkness  and 
bring  Thy  light  into  it,  to  tell  the  heathen  of 
the  Saviour  who  is  waiting  to  help  and  save 
them  as  He  has  saved  me."  The  decision 
for  his  lifeworkiwas  reached  when  Comber 
was  about  fourteen.  At  twenty-four  he 
was  on  the  field  (1876).  At  thirty-four  his 
was  one  of  those  lonely  graves  which  have 
been  the  stepping-stones  of  Christianity 
into  interior  Africa.  It  was  a  short  life, 
but  a  life  full  of  eager  toil. 

Vianga-Vianga,  ** restless  activity,"  the 
natives  whom  he  loved,  and  who  loved  him, 
called  him.  Stanley  said  of  him,  **  Wher- 
ever your  Comber  went  there  was  life  and 
activity.  Again  and  again,  as  I  looked  at 
him,  he  reminded  me  of  the  young  man  with 


EVANGELISTIC   MISSIONS 


A    NATIVE    WORKER    PREACHING    IN    A    KRAAL,    EAST    AFRICA 
BAPTISMAL    SCENE,    CONGO    COUNTRY 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  241 

the  banner  on  which  was  the  word  ^Excel- 
sior.' " 

^'A  man  going  on  this  mission  should 
have  a  head  well  screwed  on, ' '  someone  re- 
marked upon  his  appointment  to  the  pio- 
neering work  of  the  Congo  mission,  "and 
our  Comber  is  that  man. ' '  On  one  occasion 
six  volunteers  were  wanted,  but  responses 
were  slow.  When  Comber  heard  of  this  he 
wrote,  ' '  Six  men,  forsooth !  Why,  as  Bent- 
ley  says,  ^If  it  were  a  gold  mine  we  had  dis- 
covered, it  would  be  easy  to  find  men  ready 
to  come  to  Africa.'  " 

He  lived  long  enough  to  see  the  gathering 
of  the  first-fruits  of  the  mission,  for  in  1886 
occurred  the  ''Pentecost  on  the  Congo. ''^ 

''And  what  shall  I  say  moreT'  For  the 
time  would  fail  me  to  tell  of  Wilson,  the 
brave  Southerner  in  the  Gabun ;  the  quaint 
and  beloved  Lindley  and  the  saintly  Tyler 
among  the  Zulus,  Grenfell  and  Richards 
and  Sims  on  the  Congo,  Waddell  in  Old  Cal- 
abar, Bishop  Steere  in  East  Africa,  and 
the  grand  old  hero.  Bishop  William  Taylor, 
who,  though  devoted  to  what  proved  an  ex- 
treme or  premature  form  of  self-support- 
ing missions,  nevertheless  held  Africa  be- 

^  The  name,  "The  Pentecost  on  the  Congo,"  has  been 
given  to  the  revival  in  1886,  when  over  1,000  Pagans 
declared  themselves  Christians. 


Otber 
Pioneers 


242      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

fore  his  church  until  he  revived  the  en- 
thusiasm that  followed  the  death  of  Cox/ 
The  women  who  have  done  what  they  could, 
and  what  men  could  not  do  for  Africa,  form 
a  noble  band/ 
Missionaries  Thcro  havc  bccu  other  missionaries 
Service  who  havc  barclj  reached  Africa;  others 

whose  work  has  extended  over  only  a  few- 
months  ;  others  who  have  lived  to  serve  but 
a  few  years ;  but  they  all  have  been  as  truly 
heralds  of  the  dawn  as  are  those  who  have 
seen  the  shadows  flee  away.  '^A  queer 
country  this  is,  where  the  only  things  of  in- 
terest you  have  to  show  me  are  the 
graves!"  said  a  newcomer.  *^Yes,''  was 
the  answer,  "but  they  are  the  milestones 
of  Christianity  to  regions  beyond.''  The 
spirit  of  those  who  give  these  milestones 
meaning  is  expressed  in  the  words  of  a  pio- 
neer: "Though  every  step  be  over  the 
grave  of  a  missionary,  Africa  must  be  re- 
deemed. ' '  In  harmony  with  this  sentiment 
is  the  exclamation  of  the  Zulu:    "0  white 

^H.  C.  DuBose,  John  Leighton  Wilson;  Josiah  Tyler, 
Forty  Years  Among  the  Zulus ;  J.  B.  Myers,  Congo 
for  Christ;  History  of  American  Baptist  Missions; 
William  Dickie,  Story  of  the  Mission  in  Old  Calabar; 
Story  of  the  Universities'  Missions;  William  Taylor, 
The  Flaming  Torch  in  Africa;   and  similar  works. 

2  Mrs.  J.  T.  Gracey,  Eminent  Missionary  Women; 
and  histories  of  the  various  general  and  women's 
societies. 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  243 

meu,  nothing  conquers  you  but  death!" 
Lieutenant  Shergold  Smith,  Thomas 
0  ^Neill,  Bishop  Parker,  and  others  who  fell 
as  they  were  about  to  enter  Uganda,  each 
could  have  uttered  the  cry  of  Bishop  Han- 
nington  's  martyr  lips :  ^ '  I  have  purchased 
the  road  to  Uganda  with  my  life!''  Said 
Bishop  Mackenzie :  ' '  If  I  had  a  thousand 
lives  to  live  Africa  should  have  them  all." 
His  lonely  death  in  Central  Africa  redupli- 
cated his  life,  in  that  it  gave  to  other  men 
the  impulse  to  offer  theirs  in  the  work  of 
the  Universities'  Missions.  There  are 
scores  upon  scores  who,  in  the  various  mis- 
sions of  the  lake  district  and  the  Congo 
basin,  and  along  the  West  Coast  up  to  Li- 
beria, have  not  counted  their  lives  dear 
unto  themselves.  Their  sacrifice  has  not 
been  in  vain.  Their  very  martyrdom  has 
hastened  the  day  of  Africa 's  redemption. 

"While  it  is  impossible  to  tell  of  the  Ti!day  ^''**''  **' 
achievements  of  the  missionaries  of  to-day 
in  Africa,  the  chapter  must  not  close  with- 
out paying  a  tribute  to  those  who  are  doing 
heroic  work:  men  and  women  who  reveal 
in  themselves  that  Africa  demands  of 
her  missionaries  the  best  education,^  the 

'The  misconception  is  altogether  too  current  that 
those  whose  mental  equipment  is  insufficient  for  mis- 
sionary work  in  China,  India  or  Japan,  will  do  for 


244     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

finest  culture/  the  graces  of  adaptation, 
evangelistic  power,  and  abounding  zeal. 
Like  Zinzendorf,  they  have  '^but  one  pas- 
sion— He,  He  alone ! ' '  With  Raymond  Lull 
they  realize  that  ^^he  who  loves  not  lives 
not,  and  he  who  lives  by  the  Life  cannot 
die/' 

Africa.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  a  question  whether  it 
does  not  require  more  mental  alertness  and  strength 
to  grapple  with  the  subtleties  of  unwritten  languages 
and  the  intricacies  of  unsystematized  religions,  to 
give  the  one  alphabet  and  grammar,  to  trace  the  other 
to  its  multiplied  hiding-places,  in  strange  modes  of 
thought  and  deep-rooted  customs,  and  to  match  it 
with  the  gospel,  than  it  does  to  acquire  written  lan- 
guages, however  diflBcult,  and  to  master  well-formed 
religious  systems,  however  profound.  At  any  rate, 
the  "will  do"  will  not  do  for  Africa  any  more  than 
for  any  other  field. 

^This  emphasis  upon  the  importance  of  culture — 
that  all-inclusive  personal  equipment — as  a  pre- 
requisite in  a  missionary  to  savages  may  seem 
strange.  But  it  does  not  seem  strange  to  those  who 
have  seen  the  African  in  his  native  dignity,  keenly 
sensitive  to  slight  deviations  from  gentle  instincts  on 
the  part  of  the  white  stranger.  The  hut  into  which 
one  must  crawl  on  hands  and  knees  may  be  con- 
structed of  poles,  mud,  and  swamp  grasses;  the  in- 
terior may  be  devoid  of  stool,  table,  or  couch,  and  the 
host  be  clad  in  a  plentiful  supply  of  palm  oil  and  red 
clay,  but  "a  man's  a  man  for  a'  that,"  quick  to  dis- 
cern the  finer  qualities  of  character. 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  245 


QUESTIONS   FOR  CHAPTER  VII. 

Aim:     To  Learn  What  the  Lives  of  African  Mis- 
sionaries Have  to  Teach. 

(It  will  be  better  to  gain  deep  impressions  from  a 
very  few  of  these  lives  than  more  superficial  impres- 
sions from  all  of  them.) 

I ...  1     Do  you  consider  that  Lull's  extensive  prepara- 
tion was  justified? 
2     Would  his  courage  have  been  more  inspiring  if 

he  had  not  known  fear? 
3*  What  do  you  think  of  the  method  he  employed 

with  the  Moslems? 
4  What,  after  all,  is  the  principal  lesson  to  you  of 
his  life?  (Ask  yourself  this  question  in  regard 
to  each  of  the  lives  you  study.  The  answer 
may  be  quite  different  from  anything  suggested 
by  the  printed  questions.) 

II 5    What  inspiration  to  take  up  missionary  work 

in  Africa  had  George  Schmidt  compared  with 
what  we  have  to-day? 
6*  Compare  his   difllculties  with   those  of  mission- 
aries at  present. 
7    What  is  your  estimation  of  the  value  of  his  work? 
III... 8*    Sum   up    the   reasons   for   calling   Krapf   a 
great  missionary. 
9     Would  his  ideas  have  been  just  as  valuable  if  he 
had  not  suffered  such  hardships? 
10     How  is  Krapf's  scheme  being  carried  out? 
IV...  11     What  special  difficulties  confronted  Moffat 

in  his  work? 
12     Describe  what  you  think  were  his  feelings  as  he 
faced  the  chief  and  his  armed  band. 


246     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

13  What  should  you  say  were  the  most  prominent 

traits  in  Moffat's  character. 

14  What  impresses  you  most  in  regard  to  Mrs.  Mof- 

fat? 

15*  Just  why  do  you  think  the  audience  at  the  Lon- 
don Missionary  Conference  paid  Moffat  such  a 
tribute? 

V...16*  State  what  you  understand  to  be  the  life- 
work  that  Livingstone  set  himself. 

17  What  were  his  motives? 

18  What  do  you  think  were  the  best  things  in  life 

that  Livingstone  had  to  miss? 

19  Was  he  justified  in  sacrificing  all  that  he  did? 
20*  What  do  you  think  it  was  in  him  that  made  such 

an  impression  on  men? 

VI . . .  21*  Why  was  Mackenzie  so  anxious  that  Eng- 
land should  annex  Bechuanaland? 

22*  Under  what  conditions  have  European  powers  the 
right  to  establish  protectorates  in  Africa? 

23  To  what  do  you  ascribe  Mackenzie's  life  suc- 
cesses? 

VII. .  .24     What  attracted  Mackay  toward  Africa? 

25  Had  the  Missionary  Society  any  right  to  waste 

life  as  it  did? 

26  What  were  the  real  results  of  Mackay's  work? 
VIII... 27     In  what  way  was  Cox's  life  multiplied? 
IX. .  .28     What  were  the  characteristics  of  Good  that 

made  him  a  great  missionary? 
29     In    what   way    was    the   last    message    of   Good 

prophetic? 
X...30     How  was  Lapsley  peculiarly  fitted   for  the 

Kassai  Valley  work? 
31     How  shall  we  connect  the  work  of  Lapsley  with 

the  future  of  the  Kassai  Valley? 
XI... 32     How  does   the   missionary   call   of  Comber 

show  us  a  rare  opportunity? 
33     What   great   life  principle   is   illustrated   in   the 

lives  of  Cox,  Good,  Lapsley,  and  Comber? 


Heralds  of  the  Dawn  247 

XII.  ..34  What  is  your  impression  as  to  the  type  of 
African  missionaries  as  compared  with  that  of 
the  great  leaders  in  the  home  land? 


References  for  Papers  or  Talks. 

I. .  .Sacrifice  and  Heroism  of  Missionaries, 
Barnes — Two  Thousand  Years  of  Missions  Before 

Carey,  pp.  205-208. 
Blaikie — The  Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone, 

pp.  98,  99,  118,  119,  183-185,  236,  237,  336,  455, 

456,  499-501. 
Harrison — Mackay  of  Uganda,  Chs.  XI,  XIII. 
Jack — Daybreak  in  Livingstonia,  Ch.  XVI. 
Mullins — Tlie  Wonderful  Story  of  Uganda,  Ch.  I. 

II . . .  Prayer  and  Missions. 
Mott — The  Pastor  and  Modern  Missions,  Ch.  V. 
Murray — The  Key  of  the  Missionary  Problem,  Chs. 

IV,  V,  VI. 
Pierson — The  New  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  Pt.  II,  Ch. 

I;  Pt.  V,  Ch.  VIII. 
Speer — Prayer  and  Missions. 

III. .  .Missionary  Statesmen. 

Blaikie — Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone,  Ch. 
XXIII. 

Griffis— Verbeck  of  Japan,  Ch.  XIV. 

Liggins — The  Great  Value  and  Success  in  Foreign 
Missions,  pp.  230-232. 

Mackenzie — John  Mackenzie,  South  African  Mis- 
sionary and  Statesman,  Chs.  XVII,  XIX. 


DAYBREAK 


Message  to  King  Leopold  and  President  McKinley 
from  Ndombe,  "King  of  the  Bashibieng,  paramount 
chieftain  by  appointment  of  Chimpellanga,  of  the 
Biomba,  Bashilele,  Bampende,  Benafula,  and  Bin- 
dundu: 

"Ndombe  to  the  great  kings  and  to  their  white  chil- 
dren, according  to  the  Word  of  God,  of  which  I  have 
heard  much  of  late.    Greeting: 

"Ndombe  requests  the  great  white  kings  to  send  out 
to  his  country  men  who  have  good  hearts  to  help  the 
black  people,  to  teach  them,  to  keep  the  peace  with 
them,  and  to  be  their  friends.  To  such  men  our  hearts 
are  open,  and  behold!  the  land  is  theirs.  When  these 
things  shall  be  done  all  shall  be  well  in  the  country 
of  Ndombe,  from  the  waters  of  all  the  great  rivers 
even  unto  the  mountains  of  the  setting  sun." 
—  Adapted  from  Verner's  Pioneering  in  Central 
Africa. 


VIII 

DAYBREAK 

The  glory  of  past  successes  and  the  pres-  Fatness*""/' 
ent  optimistic  outlook  furnish  a  wholesome  Africa 
corrective  to  any  gloomy  impressions  that 
may  arise  on  account  of  the  numerous  and 
formidable  obstacles  to  African  missions. 
The  following  sketches  are  valuable  be- 
cause of  their  bearing  upon  the  eminent  fit- 
ness of  Christianity  for  Africa.  They  pre- 
sent evidences  of  the  present  operating 
power  of  the  Son  of  God  in  Africa  as  con- 
vincing as  the  casting  out  of  devils  and  the 
reviving  of  the  dead  in  Palestine. 


Africaner^  was  a  Hottentot  desperado  of 
Namaqualand.  With  a  few  hundred  fol- 
lowers he  terrorized  alike  the  neighboring 
tribes  and  the  Dutch  farmers.  The  gov- 
ernment at  Cape  Town  offered  $500  reward 
for  his  arrest  or  death.  It  was  under  the 
patronage  of  such  an  outlaw  that  Robert 
Moffat  opened  his  first  mission  in  1818.^ 

'  John  S.  MofEat,  Robert  and  Mary  Moffat. 
^  Moffat  had  been  preceded  by  missionaries  who  had 
been  driven  out  after  a  brief  stay. 
251 


Africaner 


252      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

The  white  settlers  had  regaled  the  ears 
of  the  young  missionary  with  the  predic- 
tions that  he  would  be  made  a  target  for 
the  arrows  of  the  small  boy  savages,  his 
skin  would  be  used  for  drum-heads,  and 
his  skull  for  a  drinking-cup.  One  kindly 
mother-heart,  with  an  odd  mixture  of 
harshness,  yearned  over  Moffat's  youth: 
^  ^  Had  you  been  an  old  man,  it  would  have 
been  nothing,  for  you  would  soon  have 
died,  whether  or  no ;  but  you  are  so  young, 
and  going  to  be  a  prey  to  that  monster ! ' ' 
Within  a  year  after  these  dire  forebodings 
Moffat,  with  Africaner  disguised  as  his  at- 
tendant, was  again  among  the  Dutch  farm- 
ers. He  was  taking  the  Hottentot  chief  to 
Cape  Town  to  demonstrate  to  the  govern- 
ment the  marvelous  fact  that  the  savage 
had  been  supplanted  by  a  new  man  in  Jesus 
Christ.  It  had  been  reported  that  the  mis- 
sionary had  fallen  a  victim  to  the  cruel 
whim  of  his  bloodthirsty  patron.  That  the 
love  of  Grod  should  have  conquered  Afri- 
caner seemed  beyond  credence.  Here  was 
and  is  complete  proof  that  God's  power  to 
transform  life  is  not  limited.  The  range 
of  that  power  is  from  the  uttermost  sin  to 
the  uttermost  righteousness.  After  five 
years  of  faithful  Christian  life  Africaner 


Daybreak  253 

gave  his  people  his  death-bed  charge 
(1822) :  ^*We  are  not  what  we  were — sav- 
ages, but  men,  professing  to  be  taught  ac- 
cording to  the  gospel.  Let  us  then  do  ac- 
cordingly. My  former  life  is  stained  with 
blood,  but  Jesus  Christ  has  pardoned  me. 
Beware  of  falling  into  the  same  evils  into 
which  I  have  frequently  led  you.  Seek 
God,  and  He  will  be  f  ou^d  of  you  to  direct 
you. ' ' 

Samuel  Adjai  Crowther^  is  another  con- 
spicuous trophy  of  African  missions.  Born 
of  the  relatively  inferior  Yorubas,  west  of 
the  lower  Niger,  he  was  captured  by  Fulah 
slavers  in  1821,  traded  for  a  horse,  con- 
signed to  a  Portuguese  slave  ship,  liberated 
by  an  English  man-of-war,  placed  in  a  mis- 
sion school  at  Free  Town,  Sierra  Leone, 
taken  to  England  to  complete  his  education, 
sent  as  a  missionary  to  his  own  people 
along  the  Niger,  consecrated  Bishop  of  the 
Niger  in  Canterbury  Cathedral  in  1864, 
transferred  to  his  eternal  reward  December 
31,  1891.  Such,  in  brief,  is  the  biography 
of  an  African  slave  and  Christian  freeman 
— one  of  the  great  missionary  characters  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 

^  Jesse  Page,  Samuel  Crowther. 


CroTvtlier 


2  54     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


Moolu 


Moolu's 
Relislui 


The  average,  every-day  commoner  of 
Africa,  when  a  true  Christian,  also  pre- 
sents a  wholesome  example.  Drummond^s 
journal  records  the  fidelity  of  Moolu,  one  of 
his  attendants  in  his  journey  through  east 
Central  Africa.  Of  the  first  meeting  with 
this  man  he  writes:  "I  cherish  no  more 
sacred  memory  than  that  of  a  communion 
service  in  the  little  Bandawe  chapel,  when 
the  sacramental  cup  was  handed  to  me  by 
the  bare  black  arm  of  a  native  communi- 
cant. And,"  he  adds,  with  that  simplicity 
and  sincere  humility  which  made  his  such 
a  charming  personality,  ^'a  communicant 
whose  life,  tested  afterward  in  many  an 
hour  of  trial  with  me,  gave  him,  perhaps,  a 
better  right  to  be  there  than  any  of  us. ' ' 

Drummond  habitually  held  an  informal 
Sunday  evening  service  with  his  men,  and 
Moolu  sometimes  ^^ undertook  the  sermon." 
^^He  discoursed  with  great  eloquence  on 
the  Tower  of  Babel.  The  preceding  Sun- 
day he  had  waxed  equally  warm  over  the 
Rich  Man  and  Lazarus ;  and  his  description 
of  the  Rich  Man  in  terms  of  native  ideas  of 
wealth — 'plenty  of  calico,  plenty  of  beads !' 
• — was  a  thing  to  remember.  I  never  saw 
Moolu  do  an  inconsistent  thing.  He  could 
neither  read  nor  write ;  he  knew  only  some 


Daybreak  255 

dozen  words  of  English.  But  I  could  trust 
him  with  everything.  He  was  not  *  pious'; 
he  was  neither  bright  nor  clever;  he  was 
a  commonplace  black;  but  he  did  his  duty 
and  never  told  a  lie.  The  first  night  of  our 
camp,  after  I  had  gone  to  rest,  I  remember 
being  roused  by  a  low  talking.  I  looked 
out  of  my  tent ;  a  flood  of  moonlight  lit  up 
the  forest;  and  there,  kneeling  upon  the 
ground,  was  a  little  group  of  natives,  and 
Moolu  in  the  center,  conducting  evening 
prayers.  Every  night  afterward  this  serv- 
ice was  repeated,  no  matter  how  long  the 
march  nor  how  tired  the  men.  I  make  no 
comment.  But  this  I  will  say:  Moolu 's  life 
gave  him  the  right  to  do  it.  I  believe  in 
missions,  for  one  thing,  because  I  believe 
in  Moolu.''' 


Paul,  the  '^Apostle  of  the  Congo,"  was  ^,fe  ^on "o ^  **' 

another  of  these  "commonplace  blacks." 
The  Eev.  Henry  Richards  tells  his  story." 
"There  was  one  man,  the  son  of  a  chief, 
who  did  all  that  he  could  to  oppose  the 
gospel.  He  would  take  his  drum  and  some 
wine  and  begin  to  dance  to  call  the  people 
away  from  the   service.     The  weak  ones 

^Henry  Drummond,  Tropical  Africa. 
^Henry  Richards,  Paul  the  Apostle  of  Banza  Man- 
teke.     (A  pamphlet.) 


256     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

would  sometimes  go  and  join  in  the  dance. 
The  sound  of  the  drum  seemed  to  electrify 
them;  it  reminded  them  of  Pagan  times. 
Sometimes,  when  this  man,  whose  name 
was  Nloko  (meaning  'a  curse')  could  not 
draw  the  people  away  from  the  meetings, 
he  would  come  in  and  drive  them  out  by 
making  a  great  commotion. ' '  But  the  time 
came  when  this  Saul,  '*yet  breathing  out 
threatenings, "  heard  the  heavenly  voice 
and  experienced  a  radical  conversion. 
*  ^  Nloko  was  baptized.  I  gave  him  the  name 
of  Paul,  because  his  experience  was  so 
much  like  that  of  the  Apostle.  The  man 
seemed  to  be  full  of  the  Holy  Spirit. ' '  He 
was  eager  to  preach.  He  asked  for  the 
hardest  place,  one  where  it  had  previously 
been  impossible  to  gain  admittance  for  the 
gospel.  After  some  preparatory  training 
he  went  to  Kinkanza.  The  people  would 
not  receive  him.  He  then  pitched  his  old 
tent  outside  the  Pagan  town  and  began  his 
siege.  Cold  and  dampness  and  hunger 
were  his  companions,  but  he  was  steadfast. 
panrs  First  For  mouths  there  were  no  converts.    Fi- 

nally one  man  dared  to  say,  *'I  am  a  Chris- 
tian. ' '  Immediately  he  was  rejected  by  his 
townspeople.  Then  Paul  had  a  neighbor. 
A  small  hut  was  built  near  his  tent  and  the 


Convert 


Daybreak  257 

new  convert  moved  in.  Gradually  the  little 
community  grew.  A  chapel  accommodat- 
ing 300  people  was  built.  This  little  com- 
pany of  Christians,  just  from  Paganism 
themselves,  were  soon  sending  teachers  to 
other  towns  and  paying  their  expenses. 

''All  that  Paul  seemed  to  think  of  was  Passion  for 

Souls 

souls;  he  dreamed  of  souls  and  how  he 
could  win  them.  Of  course,"  concludes 
Mr.  Eichards,  ''we  have  not  many  Pauls. 
He  is  a  born  preacher.  No  man's  prayers 
seem  to  help  me  as  much  as  his.  I  am  as- 
tonished at  the  man's  power.  He  preaches 
the  gospel  of  the  Cross.  That  is  what  breaks 
down  the  Pagan."  Before  Paul  died  (1902), 
his  church  numbered  600  members,  all  con- 
verted under  his  personal  evangelism.  This 
number  included  none  of  the  converts  in  the 
towns  where  his  missionary  teachers  had 
gone.  His  people  continue  to  carry  the  mes- 
sage across  the  Congo  to  their  heathen 
neighbors,  and  its  influence  is  widening. 

King  Khama,^  of  Bechuanaland,  South  Khama 
Africa,  is  a  living  witness  to  the  fact  that 
the  power  of  the  gospel  can  make  great  and 
good  men  from  material  that  many  despise 
and    in    an    environment  that  would  test 

^Mrs.  Wyndham  Knight  Bruce,    The  Story  of  an 
'African  Chief .     See  map,  page  184. 


258      Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

metal  of  the  finest  temper.  Having  eagerly- 
responded  to  the  gospel  message,  for  years 
he  endured  the  bitterest  sort  of  persecu- 
tion. His  father  was  both  chief  and  sor- 
cerer, and  wished  Khama  to  become  his  suc- 
cessor in  the  double  office.  Through  in- 
numerable petty  annoyances,  continual 
calumny  and  murderous  treachery  Khama 
bore  himself  as  a  dutiful  son,  except  where 
filial  obedience  crossed  godliness ,  with  for- 
bearance, gentleness,  patience,  and  dignity. 
His  steadfastness  to  Christ  never  wavered. 
The  people  were  not  slow  to  discover  the 
superior  quality  of  the  son,  and,  after  some 
years  of  conservative  hesitation,  chose 
Khama  as  chief  in  his  father's  stead 
(1872). 
Khama's  The  couutry  having  been  opened  to  trade 

witii  England  under  the  protection  of  England,  Khama, 
in  1895,  visited  Great  Britain  and  made  an 
^'interesting  and  impressive  progress 
through  England  and  Scotland. ' '  With  the 
humility  of  a  truly  great  character,  Khama 
recognizes  and  acknowledges  the  influence 
of  Christianity  and  its  exponents  upon  him- 
•  self.  At  one  crucial  period  in  his  relations 
with  England  he  turned  to  Mackenzie, 
whom,  as  a  loved  friend,  he  welcomed  again 
among  his  people  after  years  of  separation, 


Daybreak  259 

saying :  ^ '  I  shall  lean  on  you  as  in  the  olden 
time;  stop  me  if  I  go  wrong. '^ 

The  firm,  straightforward  simplicity  of  a  Firm  Rnier 
this  South  African  ''Alfred  the  Great/'  as 
he  is  sometimes  called,  may  be  illustrated 
by  his  position  on  the  liquor  question.  It 
puts  to  shame  the  weak  duplicity  of  leaders 
and  peoples  in  lands  which  for  a  much 
longer  time  have  been  inheritors  of  the  gos- 
pel. The  white  man's  drink  is  prohibited 
from  crossing  the  boundaries  of  Bechuana- 
land.  Native  beer  is  also  abolished.  These 
prohibitive  laws  are  actively  effective. 
They  are  rigidly  enforced,  and  severe  pen- 
alties are  visited  upon  offenders. 

The    white    traders    forced    Khama    to  prohibition  of 

Foreign 

strenuous  legislation — a  bit  of  statecraft  Liiiior 
worthy  the  publicity  it  has  received. 
Liquor  dealers  elsewhere  are  credited  with 
pertinacity.  Khama  found  that  his  oppo- 
nents lived  up  to  the  reputation  of  the  fra- 
ternity. Warning  followed  warning.  Still 
the  law  was  violated.  Finally,  tried  be- 
yond further  endurance^  Government,  crys- 
tallized in  Khama 's  figure,  took  control  and 
launched  a  philippic.  J.  D.  Hepburn,  who 
acted  as  interpreter,  gives  the  ultimatmn 
as  he  heard  Khama  pronounce  it :  "  Take 
everything  that  you  have.     Take  all  that 


2  6o     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

is  yours  and  go.  I  am  trying  to  lead  my 
people  to  act  according  to  that  Word  of 
God  wHcli  we  have  received  from  you 
white  people,  and  you  show  them  an  ex- 
ample of  wickedness  such  as  we  never 
knew.  You,  the  people  of  the  Word  of 
God!  Go!  take  your  cattle  and  leave  my 
town,  and  never  come  back  again  !"^  On 
the  ground  of  old  friendship  one  dealer 
pleaded  for  pity.  Khama  flashed  back: 
*' Friendship !  You  know  better  than  any 
one  how  much  I  hate  this  drink.  Don't 
talk  to  me  about  friendship.  You  are  my 
worst  enemy.  I  had  a  right  to  expect  that 
you  would  uphold  my  laws,  and  you  bring 
in  the  stuff  for  others  to  break  them.  You 
ask  for  pity  and  you  show  me  no  pity.  No ; 
I  have  had  enough  of  such  pity.  It  is  my 
duty  to  have  pity  on  my  people,  over  whom 
God  has  placed  me,  and  I  am  going  to  show 
them  pity  to-day.  That  is  my  duty  to  God.'' 
And  the  drink  went.  To  the  British  Ad- 
ministration he  wrote :  *  *  I  dread  the  white 
man's  drink  more  than  the  assegaies  of  the 
Matabele,  which  kill  men's  bodies  and  is 
quickly  over;  but  drink  puts  devils  into 
men  and  destroys  their  souls  and  their 
bodies  forever.    Its  wounds  never  heal.    I 

^J.  D.  Hepburn,  Twenty  Years  in  Khama's  Country. 


Daybreak  261 

pray  your  Honor  never  to  ask  me  to  open 
even  a  little  door  to  the  drink. '^ 

The  struffffle  over  the  native  beer  mak-  suppression  of 

c5c>  ISative    Beer 

ing  and  drinking  aroused  deep  antagonism.  Drinking 
"At  one  time,'^  said  Khama,  ''I  thought 
there  was  nothing  but  death  in  front  of  me. 
I  told  them  they  could  kill  me,  but  they 
could  not  conquer  me. ' ' 

The  years  of  state-building  which  have  ^***^  Bniiding 
succeeded  Khama 's  accession  to  the  chief- 
tainship have  resulted  in  the  conversion 
of  an  entire  savage  tribe  into  a  peaceful, 
agricultural,  Christian  people.  Houses 
have  displaced  rude  huts.  The  home- 
thought  has  taken  root.  The  Bechuanas 
are  not  all  Christians.  All  Americans  are 
not.  The  Bechuanas,  however,  are  a  dem- 
onstration of  the  effect  of  Christian  mis- 
sions. Some  still  cling  to  their  Pagan  ideas, 
although  Pagan  practices  were  long  since 
abolished  by  law.  To  pass  from  Bechuana- 
land  before  Khama  to  Bechuanaland  with 
Khama  is  like  passing  from  Dante's  In- 
ferno to  his  Paradiso.^ 


The  success  in  Madagascar-  represents 

^  It  will  be  understood  that  Khama  rules  only  a  part 
of  Bechuanaland.  his  people  being  the  Bamang^'atos, 
a  tribe  of  the  Bechuanas. 

'W.  E.  Cousins,  Madagascar  of  To-day;  J.  J. 
Fletcher,  Sign  of  the  Cross  in  Madagascar;  T.  T. 
Matthews,  Thirty  Years  in    Madagascar. 


Madagrascar 


First   Fifteen 
Years'    Worlc 


262     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

the  power  of  the  gospel  over  a  mixed  race 
in  which  the  Negro  blood  is  present,  but 
not  dominant.  The  Malagasy  are  more 
Malay  than  Negro.  Within  four  months 
after  the  first  missionary  party  of  six  ar- 
rived in  Madagascar  five  had  died  of  fever. 
But  David  Jones,  the  one  survivor,  tena- 
ciously held  on,  won  the  friendship  of  King 
Eadama,  and  inaugurated  a  most  marvel- 
ous work.  The  king  admitted  further  mis- 
sionaries on  condition  that  some  should  be 
artisans.  The  introduction  of  skilled  me- 
chanics deeply  impressed  the  Malagasy. 
After  almost  a  century  they  still  speak  of 
Canham,  the  tanner;  Chick,  the  smith; 
Eowlands,  the  weaver;  and,  above  all,  of 
Cameron,  the  master  workman.  The  last 
named  was  a  many-sided,  inventive  genius. 
He  lived  until  1875.  When  Queen  Eanava- 
lona  decided  to  banish  the  missionaries 
Cameron  secured  a  five  years '  delay  of  the 
sentence.  The  Queen  did  not  care  for  any- 
more "book  teaching,"  but  desired  some- 
thing which  to  her  mind  was  more  practi- 
cable. *  ^  Can  you  teach  my  people  to  make 
soap?"  she  asked.  Within  a  week's  time 
Cameron  returned  with  a  specimen  of  his 
soap — a  very  effective  missionary  agency. 
The    missionaries    were    expelled    from 


Daybreak  263 

Madagascar  in  1835.  A  summary  of  the 
fifteen  years'  work  shows  that  the  Hova 
language  had  been  reduced  to  written  form, 
the  Bible  liad  been  translated,  elementary 
school  books  had  been  prepared,  several 
small  Christian  churches  had  been  organ- 
ized, 10,000  or  15,000  pupils  had  passed 
through  the  one  hundred  missions  schools 
and  30,000  people  had  learned  to  read. 

The  quarter  of  a  century  from  1835  to  w^en^^land 
1862  is  called  in  Madagascar  "the  time  ^^as  Dark" 
when  the  land  was  dark."  This  at  least 
indicates  an  appreciation  of  the  light  which 
had  been  introduced  by  the  missionaries 
and  which  had  partially  been  eclipsed  by 
their  banishment.  Persecution  produced 
''a  noble  army  of  martyrs.''  Christians 
went  to  their  deaths  "with  faces  shining 
like  those  of  angels."  Not  less  than  1,900 
persons  were  persecuted  in  various  ways 
in  1849.  Of  the  eighteen  martyrs,  four 
were  of  noble  birth,  and  were  burned.^ 

The  more  Queen  Ranavalona  persecuted,  p^rtitide 
the  more  the  Christians  multiplied.    Hill- 
tops,   remote    forests,    caves    and    tombs 
served  as  meeting-places.     After  twenty- 
five  years  of  persecution  there  were  four 

^  other  special  seasons  of  persecution  occurred  in 
1835-37,  1840,  and  1857. 


264     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

times  as  many  Christians  as  at  the  begin- 
ning. The  missionaries  found  (1862) 
about  6,000  who  not  only  had  not  given  up 
their  faith,  but  most  of  whom  had  made 
their  confession  during  this  reign  of  terror. 
Eight  years  after  the  renewal  of  the  work 
the  statistics  of  growth  appear  incredible. 
By  1867  there  were  92  congregations,  with 
13,682  adherents;  in  1870,  621  congrega- 
tions and  231,759  adherents.  Such  rapid 
growth  precluded  thorough  training  as  to 
the  meaning  and  obligations  of  Christian- 
ity. But  the  significant  thing  is  that  it 
meant  a  definite  break  with  Paganism  and 
a  readiness  for  the  gospel.  In  1895,  after 
twenty-five  years  of  further  ingathering, 
there  were  2,004  congregations,  96,000 
church  members,  120,000  in  Protestant  mis- 
sion schools,  and  375,000  adherents.  With 
the  final  occupation  of  Madagascar  by  the 
French,  in  1896,  the  Eoman  Catholics  be- 
came the  persecutors  of  the  Protestant 
Christians  and  the  number  of  adherents 
decreased.  But  the  result  has  been  that 
by  the  elimination  of  those  who  would  not 
suffer  for  Christ's  sake  the  standard  of 
evangelical  Christians  has  been  raised.  In 
1902  there  were  184,000  Protestants  and 
135,000  in  the  mission  schools. 


Daybreak  265 

Lest  any  should  think  that  the  respon- 
siveness and  steadfastness  of  the  Malagasy 
to  Christianity  may  be  due  to  the  slight 
proportion  of  Negro  blood  in  their  veins, 
the  Baganda  on  Lake  Victoria  are  cited/ 
They,  too,  are  a  mixed  race,  but  remain  pre- 
dominantly Negro.  In  1875  Henry  M. 
Stanley  sent  from  Uganda  his  famous 
' '  Challenge  to  Christendom. ' '  King  Mtesa 
had  asked  for  missionaries  for  his  people. 
Would  Christians  respond  to  this  cry  from 
the  heart  of  Africa  1 

The  people  in  whose  behalf  this  chal- 
lenge was  sent  were  described  by  Stanley 
himself  as  ''crafty,  fraudful,  deceiving,  ly- 
ing, thievish  knaves,  taken  as  a  whole." 
Women  and  children  as  well  as  slaves  were 
property.  Polygamy  was  common.  The 
people  were  victimized  by  belief  in  witch- 
craft. Violence  was  rife.  Punishment  and 
death  were  often  accomplished  by  fearful 
torture.  Human  life  was  held  cheap.  A 
subject  might  be  shot  simply  to  test  a  gun. 
Cannibalism  was  probably  occasionally 
practiced.  Human  sacrifice  was  often  a 
wholesale  slaughter.  Mtesa 's  father  had 
been  accustomed  to  sacrifice  great  numbers 

^  Chronicles  of  Uganda;  The  Wonderful  Story  of 
Uganda;  Mackay  of  Uganda;  Pilkington  of  Uganda; 
History  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society. 


Usanda 


Character  of 
People 


266     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

of  his  subjects  whenever  religious  caprice 
or  personal  vengeance  dictated.  Mtesa 
himself  offered  two  thousand  captives  in 
sacrifice  to  his  father's  spirit,  and  later 
commanded  a  similar  butchery  in  order  to 
propitiate  the  evil  spirit  that  was  causing 
his  own  illness. 
ramma^P^'''''  lu  1896,  Icss  thau  twcuty  years  after  the 

advent  of  the  first  missionaries,  Pilking- 
ton  could  write  his  remarkable  and  worth- 
ily oft-quoted  summary:  '^A  hundred  thou- 
sand souls  brought  into  close  contact  with 
the  gospel — half  of  them  able  to  read  for 
themselves;  two  hundred  buildings  raised 
by  native  Christians  in  which  to  worship 
God  and  read  his  Word ;  two  hundred  na- 
tive evangelists  and  teachers  entirely  sup- 
ported by  the  native  church ;  ten  thousand 
copies  of  the  New  Testament  in  circulation ; 
six  thousand  souls  eagerly  seeking  daily 
instruction;  statistics  of  baptism,  of  con- 
firmation, of  adherents,  of  teachers,  more 
than  doubling  yearly  for  the  last  six  or 
seven  years,  ever  since  the  return  of  the 
Christians  from  exile;  the  power  of  God 
shown  by  changed  lives — and  all  this  in  the 
center  of  the  thickest  spiritual  darkness  in 
the  world !  Does  it  not  make  the  heart  reel 
with  mingled  emotions  of  joy  and  fear,  of 


Daybreak  267 

hope  and  apprehension!  Well  may  Chris- 
tian hearts  rejoice  with  trembling  as  they 
hear  of  it !  Well  may  they  labor  in  prayers 
for  such  possibilities,  either  of  magnificent 
success  or  heart-breaking  disaster!" 

Moreover,  the  Uganda  church  itself  had  5fa«"t* 
its  roll  of  native  membership  written  in  ^^^^*y^» 
martyrs'  blood.  Its  early  histor^,^  is  a  re- 
cital of  the  most  sublime  faith  amid  terrible 
persecution  and  torture.  They  had  "trial 
of  cruel  mockings  and  scourgings,  yea, 
moreover  of  bonds  and  imprisonments — 
they  were  sawn  asunder;  were  tempted; 
were  slain;  being  destitute,  afflicted,  tor- 
mented (of  whom  the  world  was  not  wor- 
thy) ;  they  wandered  in  deserts,  and  in 
mountains,  and  in  dens  and  caves  of  the 
earth.  And  these  all,  having  had  witness 
borne  to  them  through  their  faith,  received 
not  the  promise,  God  having  provided  some 
better  thing  for  us,  that  they  without  us 
should  not  be  made  perfect.'' 

In  1904  the  Church  of  England  had  in  u&anda  church 
Uganda  43,868  baptized  Christians  (8,321 
having  been  baptized  during  the  year),  32 
ordained  native  clergymen,  2,468  native 
evangelists  and  teachers,  a  cathedral,  built 
at  native  expense,  seating  4,000  persons, 
and  1,070  other  places  of  worship,  with  a 


"A  Nation  in  a 
Day" 


268     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

seating  capacity  of  127,000,  and  with  an 
average  Sabbath  attendance  of  50,000. 
Nearly  100,000  people  could  read  and  write 
and  250,000  were  under  religious  instruc- 
tion. All  of  this  native  work  is  financed  by 
native  Christians,  and  is  practically  self- 
governing.  The  bishop  is  the  only  European 
member  of  the  chief  council.  Native  evan- 
gelists and  missionaries  are  being  sent 
throughout  the  kingdom  of  Uganda  and  to 
surrounding  tribes. 

'^A  nation  in  a  day!'^  Into  the  somber, 
blood-stained  tapestry  of  Pagan  life  the 
new  thread  of  a  mighty  Love  has  been 
woven.  This  wonderful  thread  can  be 
traced,  now  dividing  and  intertwining,  now 
knotted  and  tangled  and  shredded,  now,  ex- 
cept to  a  keen  eye,  lost  sight  of,  though 
only  to  reappear  in  clearer  design,  marred 
here  by  ruthless  hands,  stained  there  with 
martyr  blood,  but  finally  dominating  the 
whole,  until  the  fabric  grows  firm  and  en- 
during, and  the  pattern  distinct  and  chaste 
and  beautiful.  As  these  thirty  years  pass 
in  review  one  is  conscious  that  the  Word 
of  the  Lord  comes  to  His  own  to-day  as 
clearly  as  in  His  message  to  Zerubbabel: 
*^Who  art  thou,  0  great  mountain!  Before 
Zerubbabel  thou  slialt  become   a  plain. '^ 


Daybreak  269 

And  as  the  heart  bows  in  deep  thankful- 
ness for  the  fulfillment  of  this  promise  in 
dark  Africa  there  speaks  through  the  si- 
lence the  voice  of  Him  who  sitteth  on  the 
throne:  '^Not  by  an  army,  nor  by  power, 
but  by  My  spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts.'' 

In  1875  the  Ngoni  were  a  plundering,  N»«»»"a»»d 
bloodthirsty  tribe.  They  raided  for  sus- 
tenance and  slaughtered  for  pleasure.  They 
terrorized  other  natives  of  the  region  to 
the  west  of  Lake  Nyasa.  The  remnants  of 
these  almost  annihilated  tribes  fled  for  pro- 
tection to  the  Livingstonia  Mission.  This 
led  Dr.  Laws  to  propose  to  settle  a  mission- 
ary among  the  wild  Ngoni  themselves.  Dr. 
Elmslie's  story  of  his  own  twenty  years' 
life  among  them  reveals  the  awful  deprav- 
ity and  brutality  of  this  people.^ 

J.  W.  Jack  vividly  portrays  the  transfor-  Transforma- 
mation  after  a  few  years  of  missionary 
work.  '  ^  The  rock  of  unbelief  and  inditf  er- 
ence,  which  at  first  remained  non-riven,  in 
spite  of  repeated  strokes,  has  at  last  been 
shattered.  Both  chiefs  and  people  have  be- 
come friendly  to  the  mission.  The  national 
war-spirit  is  broken.  The  brutal  raids  upon 
the   Tonga   and   other   defenseless   tribes 

^W,  A.  Elmslie,  M.D.,  Among  the  Wild  Ngoni. 


270     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

have  entirely  ceased.  Spears  and  clubs 
are  being  exchanged  for  the  Word  of 
God.  The  lives  of  the  missionaries  are 
no  longer  in  danger.  The  horrible 
practices  of  the  native  doctors  are  giv- 
ing place  to  the  arts  of  true  medicine. 
Savage  creatures  who  have  lived  all  their 
days  for  plunder  and  profligacy,  whose 
'hearts  have  never  known  principle,  or  vir- 
tue, or  decency,  are  being  born  again  by  a 
divine  power,  are  giving  up  their  degraded 
habits,  and  are  sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus, 
clothed  and  in  their  right  minds.  All  this, 
too,  in  little  more  than  a  decade  of  time! 
And  without  any  secular  force  to  help,  with 
no  aid  whatever  from  army  or  civil  admin- 
istration, and  with  the  persistent  savagery 
of  the  land  as  an  opponent !  It  is  surely  a 
triumph  as  splendid  as  any  ever  achieved 
by  the  force  of  arms.  It  is  a  change  as  stu- 
pendous as  when  the  peaceful  staff  of 
Moses  broke  in  shivers  all  weapons  of  war 
and  the  ten  thousand  spears  of  Pharaoh. 
It  is  a  marvel  of  power,  greater  than  any 
belonging  to  this  lower  world. ' '  ^ 

congro  Basin  The  typical  African  of  the  Congo  basin 

also  has  shown  a  remarkable  readiness  to 

^James  W.  Jack,  Daybreak  in  Living stonia. 


Daybreak  27 1 

receive  the  gospel  and  a  staunch  loyalty  to 
the  faith.  The  '* Pentecost  on  the  Congo" 
is  no  more  a  fact  of  history  than  is  the  un- 
swerving faithfulness  and  missionary  zeal 
of  these  converted  Pagans — some  of  them 
formerly  cannibals.  ^^When  an  African  will 
give  up  his  superfluous  wives,  will  reject  an 
easy  opportunity  to  steal,  will  confess  a  sin 
which  entails  sure  and  disagreeable  punish- 
ment, will  relinquish  vengeance  against  a 
foe,"  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the 
mighty  transformation  in  his  life.  And 
such  Africans  are  adding  to  the  Congo 
chhrch  daily  those  who  are  being  saved. 
^ '  The  native  Christians  from  the  first  have 
adopted  as  a  cardinal  principle  of  church 
membership  that  every  member  should  per- 
sonally engage  in  some  form  of  Christian 
service."^  This  explains  their  abounding 
liberality,  their  self-support,  their  high 
standard  of  morals,  their  spirit,  and  their 
record  of  conquest.  The  Eev.  Henry  Rich- 
ards, of  the  American  Baptist  mission  on 
the  Congo,  answers  the  query  as  to  ^^what 
kind  of  Christians  the  Africans  make,  if 
they  really  give  up  their  Paganism  and  be- 
come civilized,"  by  this  statement:  ^'We 
have  fifteen  hundred  church  members  at 
^  John  Bell,  A  Miracle  of  African  Missions. 


Remarkable 
Respon 


272     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

our  station,  and,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  we 
have  as  spiritual  and  devoted  a  church  as 
you  will  find  anywhere.  As  a  whole,  they 
compare  favorably  with  any  other  body  of 
Christians." 
Verner  points  out  that  the  Congoese  are 
Biveness  evcu  morc  responsive  to  Christianity  than 

are  the  Baganda.  Among  the  latter  the 
growth  of  the  church  has  been  a  hundred- 
fold in  ten  years '  time.  In  the  Kassai  val- 
ley of  the  Congo  basin  ''the  growth  has 
been  a  hundredfold  in  ^ve  years '  time,  and 
this,  too,  when  the  political  power,  con- 
trary to  the  case  of  Uganda,  has  not  been 
vested  in  the  government  to  which  the  mis- 
sionaries belong.  When  Lapsley  landed  at 
Luebo  (1891)  there  was  not  a  Protestant 
native  Christian  in  a  thousand  miles.  Now 
there  are  nearly  two  thousand.  There  have 
never  been  more  than  ten  missionaries  ac- 
tively at  work  there  at  one  time,  but  they 
have  been  so  besieged  with  calls  from  far 
and  near  that  they  have  been  physically 
unable  to  respond.  The  Baluba  slaves,  who 
once  thought  that  Luebo  [before  mission- 
aries came]  was  synonymous  with  all  the 
horrors  of  torture  and  death,  now  hail  it 
as  the  haven  of  freedom  and  peace.  Where 
the  murderous  shouts  of    cannibals  once 


Daybreak  273 

rang  through  the  forest,  the  sound  of 
the  church  bell  proclaims  the  call  to  wor- 
ship and  the  songs  of  Zion  resound  across 
the  clearing."^ 

It  is  in  the  interior,  beyond  the  vicious  t^t^lior  eLut 
influence  of  corrupt  civilization  and  demor-  ^*^^ 
alizing  trade,  that  the  African  is  most  eas- 
ily won  to  Christianity,  and  once  thor- 
oughly won  endures  hardness  as  a  good 
soldier  of  Jesus  Christ.  In  less  than  a  gen- 
eration large  districts  such  as  those  de- 
scribed have  discarded  barbarous  prac- 
tices, just  as  converts  in  Christian  lands 
leave  off  bad  habits,  and  have  adopted  the 
manners  and  some  of  the  arts  of  civiliza- 
tion. Thirty  years  ago  there  was  not  a 
convert  in  all  Central  Africa,  to-day  there 
are  over  60,000;-  thirty  years  ago  no 
churches  and  schools,  to-day  over  2,000 
places  of  worship  and  instruction;  thirty 
years  ago  no  pupils,  to-day  about  300,000 
receive  religious  and  secular  training; 
thirty  years  ago  no  native  evangelization, 
to-day  above  100  ordained  and  over  3,000 
native  helpers,  who  are  carrying  the  gospel 

^S.  p.  Verner,  Pioneering  in  Central  Africa. 

-These  statistics  are  estimated  from  the  latest  re- 
ports of  the  Central  African  Missions  of  various  so- 
cieties. They  are  only  approximate,  but  it  is  be- 
lieved that  they  fairly  represent  the  situation. 


274     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 


Christianity's 
Task 


FcTV  Mission- 
aries in  tbe 
Sudan 


to  their  Pagan  brethren.  The  forces 
are  now  organized  in  several  strong 
centers.  Christianity  has  gathered  mo- 
mentum. Who  will  attempt  to  prophesy 
the  cumulative  results  that  may  reason- 
ably be  expected  within  the  next  genera- 
tion? 

Notwithstanding  the  successes  of  the 
gospel,  the  task  yet  to  be  compassed  before 
the  Dark  Continent  shall  be  evangelized 
is  one  of  incalculable  magnitude.  About 
90,000,000  Pagans  in  the  southern  half 
and  50,000,000  Moslems  in  the  northern 
half,  like  perennially  provisioned  armies 
in  mighty  fortresses,  occupy  the  great 
mass  of  the  continent,  while  but  9,000,- 
000  ^'Christians''^  stretch  like  a  skirmish 
line  along  the  coasts.  Only  here  and  there 
have  advances  been  made  upon  the  interior. 
The  missions  along  the  Congo,  the  Niger, 
the  Nile,  the  Zambezi,  in  the  lake  district, 
and  South  Africa  represent  practically  the 
sum  total  of  interior  work. 

The  densely  populated  territory  of  the 
central  Sudan,  stretching  eastward  from 
the  junction  of  the  Benue  with  the  Niger  to 

^"Christians,"  as  here  used,  include  all  white  resi- 
dents in  Africa,  believers  and  non-believers,  as  well 
as  black  communicants.  Blue  Book  of  Missions, 
1905. 


Daybreak 


275 


the  Upper  Nile,  is  without  a  missionary  ex- 
cept at  its  extremities/  Of  its  states,  Bornu 
is  larger  than  New  York,  Gando  than  Wis- 
consin, Kordofan  than  Missouri;  Bagirmi 
is  a  little  smaller  than  Ohio,  Kanem  than 
Kentucky,  Wadai  than  Montana,  Adamawa 
than  Nevada,  Darfur  than  the  combined 
areas  of  Colorado,  Kansas,  and  Oklahoma. 


Present  Force 
of    Christian 


It  is  as  if  the  United  States,  with  her  82,- 
000,000  of  people,  had  one  missionary  in 
Maine  and  one  in  Texas,  and  not  a  ray  of 
gospel  light  between. 

If  all  of  Africa  and  its  population  were 
divided  equally  among  the  present  force  workers  in 
of  missionaries  each  would  have  a  parish 
of  3,700  square  miles — nearly  half  as  large 
as  Massachusetts — and  48,000  people.  A 
similar  division  for  native  workers  would 
give  each  700  square  miles  and  9,000  peo- 
ple. Well  might  it  be  asked.  ^'What  are 
these  among  so  many  ? '  ^ 

^  Three  societies  have  recently  opened  missions  in 
these  two  sections. 


276     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


Irony  of  Much 

Missionary 

Entliusiasm 


Tlie  Contest 
for   Pa^an 
Africa 


It  was  before  a  great  farewell  meeting  to 
Sudan  missionaries  that  Graham  Wilmot 
Brooke  strikingly  set  forth  the  pathetic 
irony  of  much  of  our  ^'missionary  enthusi- 
asm : ' '  ' '  After  many  missionary  meetings 
in  various  parts  of  the  country,  at  which 
the  appalling  fact  has  been  fully  set  forth 
that  in  the  Sudan  there  are  as  many  peo- 
ples as  in  the  whole  continent  of  North 
America,  and  all  dying  without  the  gospel ; 
yet  to  such  a  field  and  to  such  a  battle  all 
that  can  be  mustered  are  four  young  men 
and  two  young  ladies !  In  temporal  things 
this  would  be  called  a  miserable  fiasco ;  but 
as  it  is  a  missionary  movement,  and  as  obe- 
dience to  Christ  is  the  only  motive  which 
is  urged,  we  are  told  to  regard  this  as  a 
'  splendid  party. '  '  '^ 

There  is  offered  to  the  young  men  and 
women  of  the  twentieth  century  no  greater 
opportunity  for  noble  service  and  superb 
heroism  than  the  contest  which  is  now  on 
for  Pagan  Africa. 

Islam  and  Christianity  are  each  striving 
for  the  prize.  Islam,  with  its  millions 
massed  in  the  heart  of  the  continent,  has 
enormous  odds  in  numbers  and  situation. 


'Quoted  by  Engene  Stock. 
Missionary  Society. 


History  of  the  Church 


Daybreak  277 

Moreover,  Moslems  are  to-day  stirred  with, 
a  genuine  missionary  zeal,  and  are  advanc- 
ing to  the  conversion  of  Pagan  Africa  to 
the  false  prophet.  Whether  Africa  is  to 
be  Pagan  or  Christian  is  not  half  the  ques- 
tion. Shall  Africa  be  Mohammedan  or 
Christian!  That  is  the  question.  It  will 
be  answered  speedily  one  way  or  the  other. 
It  is  most  urgently  necessary  that  Chris- 
tianity outstrip  Mohammedanism.  As  has 
been  pointed  out,  when  once  converted 
to  Islam,  the  difficulty  of  winning  the 
African  to  Christianity  is  immeasura- 
bly increased.  ^'Who  will  come  to  the 
help  of  the  Lord,  to  the  help  of  the 
Lord  against  the  mighty!"  Each  must 
answer  for  himself,  and  quickly.  The  time 
is  waxing  late. 

Next  to  the  imperative  necessity  of  win- 
ning Pagan  Africa  to  Christ  before  Islam 
has  spread  over  the  entire  continent  is  the 
urgent  importance  of  evangelizing  Moslem 
Africa  itself.  The  Moslem  has  always 
proved  peculiarly  obstinate  to  Christian 
evangelism.  Islam  has  enough  truth  to 
palliate  an  easy-going  conscience  and 
enough  error  to  satisfy  a  corrupt  heart. 
But  the  factor  that  most  powerfully  oper- 
ates against  the  acceptance  of  Christianity 


E^vangrellza- 
tlon   of   Mo- 
bammedan. 
Africa 


Tine   Outlook 


278     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

by  Moslems  is  the  fanatical  intolerance  of 
all  ' '  the  faithful ' '  against  any  one  of  their 
number  who  repudiates  Islam  for  another 
faith.  When  the  European  control  of  Africa 
becomes  so  complete  that  religious  liberty 
is  secured  Christianity  will  certainly  make 
large  conquest  of  Islam.  The  day  of  begin- 
ning that  conquest  is,  however,  not  so  far 
away  as  this  condition  would  indicate.  The 
results  of  the  work  of  the  American  Mis- 
sion in  Egypt,  of  Robert  College  at  Constan- 
tinople, and  of  Beirut  College  in  Syria  have 
abundantly  proved  that  wise  and  persistent 
evangelistic  and  educational  methods,  even 
in  unfavorable  government  environment, 
will  ultimately  win  among  Moslems. 

The  outlook  for  the  religion  of  light  in 
the  Dark  Continent  is  not  to  be  measured 
by  past  or  present  successes.  Splendid  as 
these  successes  are,  they  point  rather  to  fu- 
ture promise  than  to  present  achievements. 
For,  while  the  outlook  is  as  dark  as  sin  and 
degradation  can  make  it,  it  is  as  bright  as 
the  promises  of  God.  ''  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up, 
will  draw  all  men  unto  me.'^  '^He  shall 
have  dominion  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from 
the  river  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth. "  *  *  The 
earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
Lord  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea. ' ' 


OUT   OF   DARKNESS   INTO    LIGHT,    WEST   AFRICA 


A    GROUP    OF    UNEVANGELIZED    NATIVES 
A    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY    CLASS 


Africa's  Latent 
Forces 


Pleas    from 
Hausaland 


Daybreak  279 

Africa  has  other  Africaners,  Crowthers, 
Moolus,  Pauls  of  the  Congo,  Khamas,  other 
Madagascars,  Ugandas,  Ngonilands,  and 
Congo  districts  waiting  for  the  gospel  mes- 
sage 'Ho  roll  the  darkness  off  that  over- 
shades  the  soul  and  cleanse  the  deeper  dyes 
of  sin. ' ' 

Representatives  of  the  great  Hausa  na- 
tion of  the  Sudan  themselves  applied  for 
the  stations  established  among  them.  Here 
is  a  right  of  way  into  the  Mohammedan 
Sudan,  with  its  teeming  millions  of  the 
best  races  in  Africa.  The  conversion  of  the 
Hausas  might  mean  more  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  continent  than  the  conversion  of 
the  Baganda.  The  Hausa  language,  which 
is  said  to  be  worthy  of  place  among  ''the 
world's  imperial  tongues,"  is  the  commer- 
cial language  of  the  Sudan.  It  may  yet 
become  to  the  various  Sudanese  nations 
what  Greek  was  to  the  Mediterranean  peo- 
ples in  the  first  missionary  campaign. 

Verner  vividly  pictures  the  opportunity  Urgent  caiis 

*^     ^  ^^  *'      from  Congro 

in  the  Kassai  valley  south  of  the  Congo :  Tribes 
"There  is  no  mission  field  more  full  of 
promise,  more  urgent  in  its  needs,  than 
that  in  the  great  Kassai  valley  and  the  ad- 
joining Lunda  plateau.  The  Bakete,  num- 
bering thirty  thousand,  are  all  accessible 


28o     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 

and  at  the  doors  of  the  great  church  at 
Luebo.  The  Bakuba,  numbering,  perhaps, 
four  hundred  thousand,  lying  north  of 
Luebo,  in  the  great  Sankuru-Kassai  penin- 
sula, have  thrown  open  their  doors,  and 
already  one  station  has  been  planted 
among  them.  The  Bashilange,  numbering 
over  one  million,  lying  to  the  south  of 
Ndombe,  are  ready  to  hear  the  Word,  and 
have  sent  me  earnest  pleas  all  the  way  to 
America  to  come  back  to  them.  The  Ba- 
luba,  numbering  three  millions,  to  the  south 
and  east  of  Luebo,  have  already  made  the 
most  numerous  converts,  and  they  would 
give  to  our  churches  a  membership  exceed- 
ing the  entire  Presbyterian  membership  in 
America  in  a  generation,  if  only  the  work- 
ers were  there. ' '  ^ 
^^E^ert^N*  w  ^^  ovcry  quartcr  of  the  Pagan  interior 
Missionary  whcrc  a  missiou  has  been  established  long 
enough  for  its  purposes  and  work  to  be  ap- 
preciated, chiefs  and  deputations  from 
tribes  ask  for  far  more  missionaries  than 
can  be  supplied.  Perhaps  it  would  not  be 
too  much  to  say  that  every  new  missionary 
could  go  to  a  place  which  has  applied  for 
teachers  if  the  imperative  necessities  of  the 

^S.  p.  Verner,  Pioneering  in  Central  Africa. 


Daybreak  281 

work  did  not  require  reinforcements  of  the 
established  stations. 

In  1904  King  Geddy,  of  Southern  Libe-  tnltlV^^^ 
ria,  called  on  Bishop  Hartzell,  who  at  the 
time  was  inspecting  Liberian  missions. 
Age  had  told  upon  the  visitor.  He  walked 
with  halting,  shuffling  steps,  leaning  heav- 
ily upon  his  long  stick.  His  flowing  white 
beard  and  open  countenance  completed  a 
picture  that  involuntarily  suggested  ^'Ja- 
cob leaning  on  the  top  of  his  staff.''  He 
had  walked  twelve  miles  in  this  painful 
manner  in  order  to  make  a  personal  plea 
for  a  missionary  to  be  stationed  among  his 
people.  He  is  typical.  An  age-old  people 
has  staggered  along  for  centuries  in  the 
darkness  of  Paganism,  occasionally  catch- 
ing little  gleams  of  light  from  the  Sun  of 
Eighteousness,  and  knowing  enough  of  the 
misery  of  darkness  to  beg  now  and  then  for 
a  candle. 


'I  know  of  a  land  that  is  sunk  in  shame. 

Of  hearts  that  faint  and  tire — 

And  I  know  of  a  Name,  a  Name,  a  Name, 

Can  set  that  land  on  fire. 

Its  sound  is  a  brand,  its  letters  flame — 

I  know  of  a  Name,  a  Name,  a  Name, 

Will  set  that  land  on  fire." 


To  those  who  look  upon  Christianity  as 
only  one  of  the  religions    of    the    earth. 


The   Convep- 
8ioii    of  Africa 
as  Vieiived.  by 
the    Xon- 
Christian 


The    Conver- 
sion  of  Africa 
as  Vie^ved  by 
the  Christian 


282     Daybreak  In  the  Dark  Continent 

adapted  mainly  to  the  Caucasian  race,  it 
appears  not  only  incongruous  but  futile  to 
attempt  the  conversion  of  Pagan  and  Mo- 
hammedan Africa.  To  those  who  look 
upon  religion  as  a  mere  inconvenient  fea- 
ture of  human  nature  one  religion  seems  as 
good  as  another — the  one  easiest  for  any 
one  given  people  being  the  logical  one,  ac- 
cording to  this  tit-all  philosophy. 

But  the  Christian  is  unappalled  by  the 
number  of  Pagans  or  Mohammedans.  As 
sure  as  God  is  God ;  as  sure  as  Christianity 
is  the  religion  which  God  cared  so  much  to 
teach  men  as  to  come  to  earth  in  the  person 
of  his  Son ;  as  sure  as  all  power  in  heaven 
and  on  earth  is  given  to  Jesus  Christ;  as 
sure  as  he  commissioned  his  disciples, 
therefore,  to  go  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  his  gospel  to  every  creature;  as 
sure  as  he  promises  to  be  with  such  all  the 
days  even  unto  the  end  of  the  age — so  sure 
is  Christianity  of  ultimate  triumph  in  Af- 
rica. God  waited  a  long  time  for  the  world 
to  get  ready  for  Jesus  Christ,  but  in  the 
fullness  of  time  he  came.  God  waited  a 
long  time  for  the  preparation  of  India, 
China,  Japan,  Korea,  and  the  islands  of  the 
sea,  and  for  the  readiness  of  Christians  to 
carry  them  the  gospel.    So  has  he  waited 


Daybreak  283 

for  the  message  of  salvation  to  be  preached 
to  the  millions  of  Pagan  and  Mohammedan 
Africa.  It  is  within  the  reasonable  capa- 
bility of  the  church  of  this  generation  fully 
to  proclaim  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  to  all 
who  have  been  dwelling  in  the  darkness  of 
Africa. 


"Out  of  the  shadows  of  night 
The  world  rolls  into  light. 
It  is  daybreak  everywhere." 


284     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER   VIII. 

Aim:     To  Study  Africa's  Call  in  View  of  the  Suc- 
cess Achieved. 

I. .  .1  What  real  satisfaction  do  you  think  Africaner 
found  in  his  former  bloody  life? 

2  Try  to  picture  his  feelings  after  his  eyes  were 

opened. 

3  Would  such  a  man  ever  have  been  influenced  by 

mere  just  dealings  on  the  part  of  the  settlers? 

4  What  is  necessary  for  the  redemption  of  such 

characters? 

II ...  5  What  does  the  career  of  Crowther  teach  as  to 
the  possibilities  of  the  African? 

III. .  .6  How  many  Americans  can  you  name  whose 
lives  have  wrought  more  change  in  the  com- 
munity round  them  than  did  Khama's  life? 

7  What  do  you  think  of  his  attitude  on  the  drink 

question? 

8  Had  he  any  right  to  infringe  on  the  personal  lib- 

erty of  his  subjects? 

9  Sum  up  the  value  of  his  life  both  as  to  past  influ- 

ence and  future  example, 

IV...  10  How  much  worth  while  does  it  seem  to  you 
to  transform  an  average  African  into  a  Moolu? 

V...11  What  lessons  in  regard  to  missions  do  we 
learn  from  the  main  facts  of  the  work  in  Mada- 
gascar? 

VI...  12  Mention  occasions  that  might  lead  to  vio- 
lent death  in  Uganda  in  1875. 

13  Carefully  compare  the  figures  of  Uganda  missions 

in  1896  and  for  1904,  and  note  what  they  teach. 

14  Can  you  think  of  any  career  more  desirable  than 

that  of  having  shared   in  such  a  transforma- 
tion? 


Daybreak  285 


VII. .  .15     What  are  the  lessons  of  the  work  of  Ngonl- 

land? 
VIII...  16     In  view  of  the  way  in  which  the  Congo 

people  have  responded  to  Christianity,  what  do 

you  think  of  the  sin  of  withholding  it  from 

them? 

17  How  many  Christians  have  you  met  in  this  coun- 

try who  seem  to  you  the  equal  of  Paul  of  the 
Congo? 

18  What  has  been  accomplished  in  thirty  years  in 

Central  Africa? 

19  Could  more  have  been  expected  in  view  of  the 

difficulties   and   scantiness   of   the   efforts   put 

forth? 
20*  What  is  the  need  of  Africa  for  Christian  workers 

as  compared  with  the  United  States? 
IX... 21     In  view  of  what  has  happened  in  Uganda 

and  the  Congo  basin,  what  may  we  expect  of 

Hausaland? 
X. .  .22     What  facts  most  appeal  to  you  in  connection 

with  the  need  of  Kassai  Valley? 
23     Do  you  know  of  any  field  in  America  or  elsewhere 

of  equal  need  and  promise? 
XI... 24     Put   yourself    in    King   Geddy's    place    and 

think  how  you   should  explain  the   failure  of 

Christian  America  to  send  you  a  missionary. 
XII... 25     What  things  in  African  paganism  would 

arouse  the  pity  even  of  non-Christians? 

26  What  things  are  there  besides  these  that  should 

appeal  to  us  who  are  Christians? 

27  What  obligations  as  to  Africa  does  the  possession 

of  Christianity  lay  upon  us? 

28  After  all  you  have  learned,  what  is  there  that  you 

can  and  will  do  to  hasten  Daybreak  in  the  Dark 
Continent? 


286     Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent 


References  for  Papers  or  Talks. 

I..  .Establishing  a  Mission  Station. 

Bentley — Pioneering  on  the  Congo,  Ch.  V. 

Jack — Daybreak  in  Livingstonia,  Ch.  IV. 

Johnston — Missionary  Landscape  in  the  Dark  Con- 
tinent, Ch.  VII. 

Moffat — The  Lives  of  Robert  and  Mary  Moffat,  Ch. 
XXXII. 

Noble— The  Redemption  of  Africa,  Ch.  XVIII. 

II. .  .Special  Providences  in  the  Lives  of  Missionaries. 
Blaikie — Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone,  pp.  83, 

84,  175,  176,  184-199,  212,  289,  303,  343-345. 
Hotchkiss — Sketches  from  the  Dark  Continent,  Chs. 

I,  III. 
Pierson — The  New  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  Pt.  V;  Ch. 

III. 

III. .  .The  Blood  of  the  Martyrs. 

Fletcher — The  Sign  of  the  Cross  in  Madagascar, 
Chs.  XVII,  XXII. 

Harrison — Mackay  of  Uganda,  pp.  273-284. 

Pierson — The  New  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  Pt.  IV; 
Ch.  II. 

Taylor — The  Price  of  Africa,  pp.  31-44. 

Townsend — Madagascar:  Its  Memories  and  Mar- 
tyrs, Ch.  IV. 


APPENDIX  A 


CHRONOLOGY  OF  AFRICAN  HISTORY 

This  chronological  table,  compiled  from  The  His- 
torian's History,  History  of  Ready  Reference,  and 
other  standard  works,  includes  only  the  most  impor- 
tant dates.  In  Egyptian  history,  aside  from  those 
dates  which  could  not  be  omitted,  preference  is  given, 
to  those  which  are  connected  with  larger  Africa  or 
with  Bible  history. 

The  prehistoric  period  in  Africa  is  a  fascinating 
puzzle  to  historians,  because  the  first  page  of  Egyptian 
history  reveals  a  high  state  of  civilization,  indicating 
an  indefinitely  long  period  of  advancement  before  that 
time.  The  ancient  ruins  of  Rhodesia,  southeast 
Africa,  also  are  believed  to  date  as  early  as  2,000  years 
before  Christ.  The  earlier  dates  of  Egyptian  history 
can  be  given  with  only  an  approximate  degree  of  cer- 
tainty. 

4400  B.  c,  to  4133  b.  c.  1st  Dynasty  founded,  by 
Menes,  first  authentic  king,  to  whom  tradi- 
tion also  ascribes  founding  of  Memphis. 

3900  B.  c.  to  3766  b.  c.  Ilird  Dynasty.  Building  of 
Step  Pyramid  of  Sakkarah.  "It  is  certainly 
the  oldest  of  all  the  large  buildings  which 
have  successfully  resisted  the  action  of 
wind  and  weather  and  destruction  by  the 
hand  of  man."  The  Great  Sphinx  of 
Ghizeh  also  assigned  to  this  period. 
287 


Appendix  A 


3766  B.  c.  to  3566  b.  c.  IVth  Dynasty.  Sometimes 
called  the  "Pyramid  Dynasty."  Cbeops 
builds  the  Great  Pyramid.  Brilliant  age  of 
art  and  literature.  Statue  of  Khaf-Ra,  the 
earliest  statue  to  be  preserved  to  the  pres- 
ent day. 

2700  B.  c.  to  2466  b.  c.  Xlth  Dynasty.  Under  the 
patronage  of  Sankh-Ka-Ra,  last  king  of  this 
dynasty,  occurs  the  first  voyage  to  Punt 
(probably  Somaliland,  East  Africa),  and 
to  Ophir  (probably  Rhodesia,  southeast 
Africa) . 

2466  B.  c,  to  2250  b.  c.  Xllth  Dynasty.  Usertsen  III 
conquers  Ethiopia,  and  is  afterwards  re- 
vered as  its  founder.  Amenemhat  III 
builds  famous  Labyrinth  palace  and  con- 
structs Lake  Moeris  as  storage  reservoir 
for  Nile  overflow  4,000  years  before  the 
nineteenth  century  engineering  feat  on  the 
Upper  Nile  for  the  same  purpose.  Great 
age  of  art  and  literature.  Immense  activ- 
ity in  building. 

2250  B.  c.  to  1635  b.  c.  Xlllth  to  XVIIth  Dynasties. 
Before  close  of  Xlllth  the  Hyksos,  Shep- 
herd Kings,  invaders  from  the  East,  gain 
rapidly  in  power,  and  in  the  XlVth  they 
establish  their  rule.  Civilization  brought 
to  a  standstill.  There  is  possible  warrant 
for  the  theory  that  the  Hyksos  invaders 
penetrated  as  far  as  West  Africa,  and  that 
they  to-day  are  represented  in  the  superior 
mixed  race  of  the  Fulahs. 

1730  B.  c.   (?)     Hebrews  come  into  Egypt. 

1635  B.  c.  to  1365  b.  c.  XVIIIth  Dynasty.  Hyksos 
driven  out.  Egypt  becomes  a  conquering 
nation.  Activity  in  building  revived ;  great 
temples  of  Karnak  and  Luxor,  with  their 


Appendix  A  289 


avenues  of  sphinxes;  famous  Colossi  of  the 
Nile;  palace  and  tomb  at  Tel-el-Amarna,  in 
the  ruins  of  which  important  discoveries 
of  inscribed  tablets  relating  to  Palestine 
and  other  countries  were  made  during  lat- 
ter part  of  the  nineteenth  century ;  obelisks 
erected  to  adorn  Temple  of  the  Sun  at  Hel- 
iopolis.  One  of  these  obelisks  is  now  in. 
London;  another  is  in  Central  Park,  New 
York.  During  this  dynasty  occur  tempo- 
rary overthrow  of  national  religion  and 
substitution  of  worship  of  the  sun's  disc. 

1365  B.  c.  to  1235  b.  c.  XlXth  Dynasty.  Rameses  II, 
the  Pharaoh  of  the  Oppression,  and  Menep- 
tah,  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus,  belong  to 
this  period. 

1235  B.  c.  to  1075  B.  c.  XXth  Dynasty.  Decline  of 
Egypt  begins.  Phoenician  colonization  of 
Tuniscan  Coast  probably  begins. 

1075  B.  c.  to  945  B.  c.  XXIst  Dynasty.  Solomon 
makes  alliance  with  Egypt  and  marries  a 
daughter  of  an  Egyptian  king  (I  Kings 
iii:  1.)  Solomon  secures  gold  from  Ophir, 
probably  identical  with  the  gold  fields  of 
Rhodesia,  southeast  Africa.  (I  Kings  ix: 
28;  x:  11.) 
945  B.  c.  to  750  B,  c.  XXIInd  Dynasty.  Shishak  be- 
comes protector  of  Jeroboam,  who  has  fled 
from  Solomon's  violence.  (I  Kings  xi:  40.) 
He  invades  Judah,  captures  and  sacks  Jeru- 
salem. (I  Kings  xiv:  25,  26;  II  Chron. 
xii.)  Ethopian  domination  begins  through 
the  capture  of  Thebes.  Carthage  founded. 
728  B.  c.  to  655  b.  c.  XXVth  Dynasty.  Ethiopian 
rule  of  Egypt  complete.  Hoshea,  King  of 
Israel,  makes  alliance  with  Shabak  (So  of 
the     Bible).      Hoshea    withholds     tribute 


290  Appendix  A 


from  Shalmaneser,  King  of  Assyria,  and 
the  captivity  of  Israel  is  precipitated  (721 
B.  c.)  (II  Kings  xvii:  4-6.)  Tirhakah, 
Ethiopian  king  of  Egypt,  makes  alliance 
with  Hezekiah  against  Sennacherib,  King 
of  Assyria.  (II  Kings  xix:  9.)  End  of 
Ethiopian  rule.  Assyrian  domination  be- 
gins. 

655  B.  c.  to  527  b.  c.  XXVIth  Dynasty.  Under 
Psamthek  I,  200,000  Egyptian  and  Libyan 
soldiers  desert  and  go  into  Ethiopia.  Im- 
possible to  estimate  effect  of  this  migration 
upon  race  characteristics  of  later  Ethio- 
pians. Commercial  treaties  with  the  Greeks. 
Nechoh  II  endeavors  to  reconstruct  canal 
between  the  Nile  and  the  Red  Sea.  Under 
his  patronage  Phoenician  sailors  circum- 
navigate Africa.  He  defeats  Josiah,  King 
of  Judah,  at  battle  of  Megiddo.  (608  b.  c.) 
(II  Kings  xxiii:  29;  II  Chron.  xxxv: 
21-24.)  Uah-ab-Ra  (Pharaoh-Hophra  of  the 
Bible)  makes  an  alliance  with  Zedekiah, 
King  of  Judah,  against  Nebuchadrezzar, 
King  of  Babylon.  Zedekiah  revolts  against 
Babylon  and  the  captivity  of  Judah  follows 
(586  B.  c.)  (II  Chron.  xxxvi:  20.)  Assyrian 
domination  ends. 

525  B.  c.  to  405  B.  c.  XXVIIth  Dynasty.  Egypt  be- 
comes a  Persian  province  under  Cambyses, 
King  of  Persia. 

340  B.  c.  to  332  B.  c.  XXXIst  Dynasty.  Alexander 
the  Great  closes  this  period  by  finally  over- 
throwing the  Persian  power  in  Egypt. 
Greek  dominion  begins.  Alexandria  is 
founded. 

323  B.  c.  to  30  B.  c.  XXXIIIrd  Dynasty.  Ptolemy 
Soter,  one  of  Alexander's  generals,  receives 


Appendix  A  291 

Egypt  in  the  division  of  Macedonian  Em- 
pire, and  becomes  founder  of  dynasty. 
Greek  genius  and  culture  contribute  to- 
ward making  earlier  part  of  period  the 
highest  of  Egj'ptian  prosperity.  Alexandria 
becomes  greatest  city  in  world.  Alexan- 
drian museum  and  libraries  founded. 
Septuagint  version  of  the  Hebrew  Scrip- 
tures made.  Manetho's  history  of  ancient 
Egyptian  kings  written.  Euclid  becomes 
head  of  school  of  mathematics  at  Alexan- 
dria. Ptolemaic  system  of  astronomy  pro- 
pounded. Dominion  of  Ptolemies  extended 
southward.  Parts  of  Abyssinia  held  for  a 
time.  Obelisks  still  standing  in  Aksum 
believed  to  have  been  set  up  about  300  b.  c. 
Part  of  Alexandria  burned  by  Julius 
Caesar,  and  the  museum  library  of  400,000 
volumes  consumed.  Cleopatra,  last  of 
Ptolemies,  infatuates  Mark  Antony.  After 
Battle  of  Actium  Roman  domination  be- 
gins. Roman  colonization  extends  over 
North  African  coast  lands. 
30  A.  D.  Christianity  probably  introduced  into 
Africa  by  visitors  at  Pentecost. 

150  A.  D.  to  400  A.  D.  Founding  of  the  Christian 
College,  or  Missionary  Training  School,  at 
Alexandria;  Pantsnus,  Origen,  Clement, 
successive  principals.  Christianity  flour- 
ishes in  North  Africa.  At  various  times 
Roman  persecutions  of  African  Christians. 
Period  of  African  leadership  in  early 
Christian  church:  Tertullian,  Cyprian,  Ath- 
anasius,  Arnobius,  Augustine  and  others. 
Introduction  of  Christianity  into  Abyssinia 
and  other  sections  to  the  south  of  Egypt 
aJid  the  Mediterranean  coast  lands. 


292  Appendix  A   * 

522  A.  D.  Extension  of  Abyssinian  rule  over  section 
of  southern  Arabia  for  purpose  of  protect- 
ing Christians  against  Jewish  persecutions. 
Continues  for  forty  years. 
640  A.  D.  to  1000  A.  D.  Moslem  conquest  of  Egypt 
and  North  Africa.  Political,  religious,  and. 
racial  domination  begins.  Reputed  destruc- 
tion by  Mohammedans  of  Alexandrian  lib- 
rary of  700,000  volumes.  Arabs  in  East 
Africa. 

1100  A.  D.  to  1300  A.  D.  Era  of  European  awakening 
to  missionary  endeavor.  Organization  of 
numerous  philanthropic  orders  for  the  res- 
cue of  Christian  captives  in  Moslem  lands. 
Africa  shares  in  the  results.  Order  of 
Franciscan  monks  originated  by  St.  Fran- 
cis of  Assisi,  who  himself  preaches  to  the 
Saracens  in  Egypt.  Two  hundred  each  of 
Franciscans  and  Dominicans  lose  their 
lives  in  missionary  work  in  North  Africa. 
Louis  IX,  the  Crusader  of  France,  leads  the 
Seventh  Crusade  as  a  militant  missionary 
movement  against  the  Saracens  in  Egypt, 
and  meets  defeat  at  Cairo.  He  also  leads  a 
later  crusade  for  the  same  purpose  against 
Tunis,  and  again  meets  defeat,  and  dies. 
Raymond  Lull  devotes  his  life  to  mission- 
ary work  among  Moslems  of  North  Africa. 

1394  A.  D.  to  1487  A.  D.  West  Coast  discoveries  under 
patronage  of  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator. 
Discovery  of  Congo  River  (1484).  Discov- 
ery of  Cape  of  Good  Hope  (1487). 

1490  to  1540.  Modern  rediscovery  of  Abyssinia  by 
Portuguese.  Embassies  exchanged.  Por- 
tuguese give  assistance  to  Abyssinia 
against  Mohammedans, 

1497-8.  Vasco  da  Gama  rounds  Cape,  touches  at  East 
Coast  points  and  proceeds  to  India.    Portu- 


Appendix  A  293 

guese  settlements  on  East  and  West  coasts 
begin  soon  after  this  time. 

1517.    Turkish  occupation  of  Egypt. 

1600  to  1700.  Individual  explorations  of  Senegambia 
region  by  English  and  French.  Founding 
of  trading  posts  in  same  section  and  along 
Guinea  Coast.  Dutch  occupation  of  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  (1652). 

1737.  Beginning  of  missionary  work  in  South  Africa. 
George  Schmidt. 

1768.  Rediscovery  of  headwaters  of  Blue  Nile  by- 
James  Bruce. 

1788  to  1830.  Organization  of  the  African.  Associa- 
tion. Beginning  of  scientific  explorations, 
Guinea  Coast,  Niger  River,  and  Lake  Tchad 
regions.  Beginning  of  missionary  work  in 
West  Africa,  Sierra  Leone  (1796).  French 
conquest  of  Egypt  by  Napoleon.  Battle  of 
Pyramids.  Expulsion  of  French  by  Eng- 
lish. Cape  Colony  ceded  to  the  English  by 
the  king  of  the  Netherlands  (1814).  Com- 
modore Decatur,  of  United  States  navy, 
brings  Algerian  pirates  to  terms  (1815). 
Piracy  ceases.  European  legislation  against 
foreign  slave  trade.  Beginning  of  mission- 
ary work  in  North  Africa  (1825). 

1830  to  1885.  Period  of  exploration  and  discovery  in 
Central  Africa.  All  foreigners,  including 
Protestant  missionaries,  exi>elled  from 
Abyssinia  (1838).  Beginning  of  mission- 
ary work  in  East  Africa  (1844).  Discov- 
eries of  Kilma-Njaro  and  Kenia  by  Krapf 
and  Rebmann.  Reports  of  great  inland 
sea,  followed  by  discoveries  of  lakes  Tan- 
ganyika and  Victoria  Nyanza,  and  of  the 
Nile  flowing  out  of  the  latter,  by  Burton, 
Speke,  and  Grant.    First  railroad  begun  in. 


294  Appendix  A 

Africa  from  Cape  Town.  Construction  of 
the  Suez  Canal.  Discovery  of  diamonds  in 
Cape  Colony  (1867).  Livingstone's  explora- 
tions and  discoveries  (1841-1873).  Stan- 
ley's expedition  to  find  Livingstone  (1871). 
Livingstone's  death  (1873).  Stanley's  trans- 
continental expedition  and  descent  of 
Congo  (1875-77).  Founding  of  South  Afri- 
can Republic  (1880),  Paul  Kriiger,  Presi- 
dent. British  occupation  of  Egypt  (1882). 
Conquest  of  the  Sudan.  General  Gordon's 
government.  Revolt  of  tne  Mahdi.  Fall  of 
Khartum  and  death  of  Gordon  (1885).  Dis- 
covery of  gold  in  Transvaal  (1885). 

1884  to  1897.  Period  of  partition  of  Africa  among 
European  Powers.  Italy  makes  war  against 
Abyssinia  and  is  defeated. 

1898.  Re-establishment  of  British  control  in  Egyptian. 
Sudan  by  Kitchener, 

1899  to  1902.  Boer  War.  Establishment  of  British 
control  throughout  South  Africa. 


APPENDIX  B 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Note:  Most  of  the  following  named  "books  can  be 
found  in  the  public  and  private  libraries  of  any  com- 
munity and  should  be  drawn  upon  as  much  as  possi- 
ble for  reference  work.  The  special  missionary  librar 
ries,  such  as  the  Missionary  Campaign  Libraries  and 
the  Conquest  Missionary  Library,  contain  some  of  the 
books  herein  mentioned.  There  is  also  available  for 
classes  a  special  reference  library  on  Africa,  which  is 
for  sale  by  the  publisher  whose  name  appears  in  the 
imprint  on  this  text  book  or  by  your  denominational 
missionary  board. 

General. 

Beach,  Harlan  P.  Geography  and  Atlas  of  Protestant 
Missions.  (2  Vols.)  Student  Vol- 
unteer Movement,  New  York. 

Beazley,  C.  R.  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator.  (Heroes 
of  the  Nations  Series.)  G.  P.  Put- 
nam's Sons,  New  York. 

Brown,  R.  Africa  and  Its  Explorers.  (4  Vols.)  Cas- 
sell  Co.,  Ltd.,  London. 

Crafts,  W.  P.,  and  others.  Protection  of  Native  Races 
against  Intoxicants  and  Opium. 
Revell,  New  York. 

Dennis,  J.  S.  Christian  Missions  and  Social  Progress. 
(2  Vols.)     Revell,  New  York. 

Heawood,  E.    Elementary  Geography  of  Africa.  Mac- 

millan,  London. 

295 


296  Appendix  B 

Johnston,  H.  H.  Colonization  of  Africa.  The  Mao- 
millan  Co.,  New  York. 

Keane,  a.  H.  Stanford's  Compendium  of  Geo^aphy. 
(North  and  South  Africa,  2  Vols.) 
Stanford,  London. 

Merriam,  E.  E.  History  of  American  Baptist  Mis- 
sions. American  Baptist  Publica- 
tion Society,  Philadelphia. 

Noble,  F.  P.  Redemption  of  Africa.  (2  Vols.)  Revell, 
New  York. 

Parsons,  Ellen  C.  Christus  Liberator.  The  Mac- 
millan  Co.,  New  York. 

Ratzel,  F.  History  of  Mankind,  Book  IV.  The  Mac- 
millan  Co.,  New  York. 

Reid,  J.  M.,  and  Gracey,  J.  T.  Missions  and  the  Mis- 
sionary Society  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  Eaton  &  Mains, 
New  York. 

Stewart,  J.  Dawn  in  the  Dark  Continent.  Revell, 
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Taylor,  S.  E.  Price  of  Africa.  Young  People's  Mis- 
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Thompson,  A.  C.  History  of  Moravian  Missions. 
Scribners,  New  York. 

Waeneck,  G.  Outline  of  the  History  of  Protestant 
Missions.  (Seventh  Edition.)  Rev- 
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Ecumenical  Missionary  Conference  Report.  (2  Vols.) 
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Central  Africa. 
Abnot,  F.  S.    Garenganze.     Revell,  New  York. 
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American  Tract  Society,  New  York. 
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York. 
Johnson,  H.  H.    British  Central  Africa.    Methuen  & 

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Appendix  B  297 

Stanley,  H.  M.  How  I  Found  Livingstone.  Scrib- 
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St-anley,  H.  M.  In  Darkest  Africa.  (2  Vols.)  Scrib- 
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Stanley,  H.  M.  My  Dark  Companions  and  Their 
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New  York. 

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East  Africa. 

Ashe,  R.  P.  Chronicles  of  Uganda.  Hodder  &  Stough- 
ton,  London. 

Battersby,  W.  H.  Pilkington  of  Uganda.  Revell, 
New  York. 

Dawson,  E.  C.  James  Hannington,  First  Bishop  of 
Equatorial  Africa.  Seeley  &  Co., 
London. 

Elmslie,  W.  a.  Among  the  Wild  Ngoni.  Revell,  New 
York. 

[Harrison,  Mrs.  J.  W.]  Mackay  of  Uganda.  Arm- 
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Jack,  J.  W.  Daybreak  in  Livingstonia.  Revell  Co., 
New  York. 

Mullins,  J.  D.  "Wonderful  Story  of  Uganda.  Church 
Missionary  Society,  London, 

Matthews,  T.  T.  Thirty  Years  in  Madagascar.  Arm- 
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Vivian,  H.    Abyssinia,    Pearson,  London, 

North  Africa. 

Atterbuby,  a.  p.     Islam  in  Africa.     G.  P.  Putnam's 

Sons,  New  York. 


298 


Appendix  B 


Rutherford,  J.,  and  Glenny,  E.  H.  The  Gospel  in 
North  Africa.  Percy  Lund,  Hum- 
phries &  Co.,  London. 

Smith,  G.  B.  General  Gordon.  S.  W.  Partridge  &  Co., 
London. 

Bossier,  G.  Roman  Africa.  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons, 
New  York. 

Watson,  A.  P.  The  American  Mission  in  Egj-pt. 
United  Presbyterian  Board  of  Pub- 
lication, Pittsburgh. 

ZwEMEB,  S.  M.  Raymond  Lull:  First  Missionary  to 
the  Moslems.  Funk  &  Wagnalls 
Co.,  New  York. 

South  Africa. 
Blaikie,  W.  G.    Personal  Life  of  David  Livingstone. 

Revell,  New  York. 
Bruce,  Mrs.  W.  K.    Story  of  an  African  Chief.  Kegan, 

Paul,    Trench,    Triibner    and    Co., 

London. 
Bryce,   J.     Impressions   of   South  Africa.     Century 

Co.,  New  York. 
Carnegie,  D.    Among  the  Matabeles.    Religious  Tract 

Society,  London. 
Deane,  D.  J,    Robert  Moffat.    Revell,  New  York. 
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Hodder  &  Stoughton,  London. 
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Africa.    Harper  &  Bros.,  New  York. 
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Harper  &  Bros.,  New  York. 
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York. 
Mackenzie,  "W.  D.     John  Mackenzie,  South  African 

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Appendix  B  299 

Tyler,  J.  Forty  Years  among  the  Zulus.  Cong.  S.  S. 
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West  Africa. 
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New  York. 
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Revell,  New  York. 
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flin Co.,  Boston. 
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New  York. 
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Whittet  &  Shepperson,  Richmond, 

Va. 
McAllister,  Agnes.  A  Lone  Woman  in  Africa.  Eaton 

&  Mains,  New  York. 
Milum,  J.    Thomas  Burch  Freeman.    Revell  Co.,  New 

York. 
Nassau,  R.  H.    Fetichism  in  West  Africa.    Scribners, 

New  York. 
Page,  J.    Samuel  Crowther.    Revell,  New  York. 
Parsons,  Ellen  C.     A  Life  for  Africa.     Revell,  New 

York. 
Robinson,  C.  H.    Hausa-Land.     Sampson,  Lowe,  Mar- 

ston  &  Co.,  London. 
Stone,  R.  H.    In  Africa's  Forest  and  Jungle.    Revell, 

New  York. 
Vebner,  S.  p.    Pioneering  in  Central  Africa.    Presby- 
terian  Committee   of  Publication, 

Richmond,  Va. 
Wilson,  J.  L.    Western  Africa.    Harpers,  New  York. 


300 


Appendix  C 


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RELIGIOUS  DIVISIONS  OF  AFRICA 

CCCC(C(CC(CCCCC(C 
(CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC 

ccccccccccccccccc 

EACH  CRESCENT  REPRESENTS  ONEMILUON  MOHAMMEDANS 


EACH  CROSS         "f  T  T         THE  WHITE  CROSS 
RERRESENTS  ONE  MILLION  ^^^  REPRESENTS  LESS  THAN  ONE 
NOMINAL  CHRISTIANS    ^  "  ^ MILUON  ChRISTIM  COMMUNiaHTS 


■■■■BBBDBBBBBBIBBIB 


The  above  is  one  of  a  series  of  six  wall  charts  which  have 
recently  been  prepared  and  lithographed  in  colors,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Young  People's  Missionary  Movement.  The 
charts  are  36x44  inches  in  size,  and  are  printed  on  heavy 
paper.  They  are  available  to  churches,  Sunday  schools,  and 
other  organizations,  in  unbroken  sets  of  six,  carefully  packed 
in  strong  tubes  for  shipment. 

Information  as  to  styles  and  prices  may  be  secured  by 
addressing  the  Young  People's  Missionary  Movement,  156  Fifth 
Avenue,  New  York,  or  your  Denominational  Missionary  Board. 


! — 


PORTIONS  OF  THE    BIBLE    HAVE    BEEN    TRANS- 
LATED   INTO  ABOUT  120  AFRICAN  DIALECTS. 
THE  FOLLOWING  IS  JOHN  3116  IN  SIX  OF  THEM: 


S  W  A  H I L I    CE.  Coast  of  AfHca) 
Kwani  ndivyo  Muungu  alivyoupenda  ulimwengu, 
akatoa  na  Mwana  wake  wa  pekee,  illi  wote  wam- 
waminio  waupate  uzima  wa  milele  wala  wasipotee. 

ZULU  {Scmth  Africa) 

Ngokuba  uTixo  wa  li  tanda  kangaka  izwe,  wa  li 

nika  inDodana  yake  ezelweyo  yodwa,  ukuba  bonke 

aba  kolwa  kuyo  ba  nga  bubi,  kodwa  ba  be  nobomi 

obungapeliyo. 

KAFIR  {South  Africa) 

Ngokuba  Utixo  walitanda  ilizwe  kangaka,  wada 

wanika  unyana  wake   okupela  kwozelweyo,  ukuze 

osukuba  ekolwa  kuye  angabubi,  koko  abe  nobomi 

obungunapakade. 

HAUSSA  {West  Africa) 

I>o?i  Alia  ya  so  dunia  hakkanan  si  ya  bada  Dansa 
nafari,  en  kowa  ya  yirda  dasi,  ba  si  gbata  ba,  amma  si 
yi  rai  Tml  abbada. 

M  PO N  G W E  (  West  Africa) 

Kande  Anyambie  arandi  ntye  yinla  nli  ntandinli 
me  avenlie  Ogwanli  ye  wikika,  inle  om'  edu  o  beke- 
lie  avere,  ndo  e  be  doanla  nl'emenla  zakanlaka. 

DIKELE  {West  AfHca) 

Nadiambilindi  Anyambie  a  midinh  penzhe  nyi  na 

thadinh  that!  tho  tha  ye  mive  Miana  ngwei  ngwadi- 

kika,  na  mutyi  jeshe  ngwa  y6  bundlie  a  tyi  magwa, 

nji  a  be'  na  thaki'  th'  adukwa  jeshe. 


5^-1 


AFRICA  1805. 


GIAMBIS    Of  A  ClFTiriRY 


AFRICA  1905 


INDEX 


Abai  River,  30 

Abyssinia,  41,  47,  132,  172, 
173,  182,  197,  213;  visit  of 
Portuguese,  6;  mountains, 
13;  independence,  24 

Abyssinian  Church,  47,  173, 
176,  178,  (map)  193 

Adamawa,   275 

Adornment,  64,   65 

Africa:  before  the  Christian 
.  era,  1-3;  size,  10-12;  physi- 
cal features,  12-19;  climate 
and  temperature,  18,  19; 
products,  19-23;  minerals, 
21-23;  partition,  23,  24,  121, 
122;  European  and  Ameri- 
can enterprise,  24-27;  com- 
merce, 27;  exports  and  im- 
ports, 27;  intoxicating  liq- 
uors, 27;  population,  28, 
39,  see  also  "Population"; 
cost  in  lives,  28-32;  lan- 
guages and  dialects,  47;  re- 
ligious census,  45-47;  dis- 
eases and  preventives, 
119,  146;  Portuguese,  Span- 
ish, French,  133;  free  col- 
onies, 188;  in  Bible  story, 
167;  proportion  to  each 
mission  worker,  275;  latent 
forces,  279.  See  also  di- 
visions,   as    "East   Africa." 

African,  the  typical  Pagan, 
49-70;  character,  69,  70; 
vei*y  religious,  99;  educa- 
tional capacity,  156-158; 
uplift,   107 

"African  Association,"  8 

Africaner,  Chief,  185,  251- 
253,  (map)  184 

American  Baptist  Missionary 
Union,  189 


American  Board,  150,  181 

"American  Mission"  (United 
Presbyterian),  144,  193-197, 
278 

American  Missions,  28,  29, 
144;  Kassai  Mission,  114; 
American  Board,  150,  181; 
pioneer  Liberia  work,  189; 
Missionary  Society  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  189,  235,  236;  Bap- 
tist Missionary  Union,  189, 
271;  "American  Mission" 
(United  Presbyterian),  192- 
197;  Mission  of  Presbyter- 
ian Church,  237;  Presbyter- 
ian Church,  South,  238 

Angola,  118,  133,  190,  191 

"Apostle  Street,"  215 

Arab  traders,  123,  223 

Arabic  language,   47 

Arabs  in  North  Africa,  40 

Ashanti  country,  91,  94;  king, 
56;   people,  126 

Asser,   native   evangelist,  186 

Assiut   Training  College,  194 

Atbara  River,  26 

Atlas  Range,  13 

Baby,  the  African,  51,  52 

Baganda,  people  of  Uganda, 
265,   272,   279 

Bagirmi,  275 

Bakete   people,  279 

Bakuba  people,  280 

Baluba  people,  272,  280 

Algeria,   19,   192 

Bantu  Africa,  43,  44;  lan- 
guages, 44,  47;  people,  186, 
(map)  224 

Banyai,  186,   (map)   184 

Baptism  of  converts,  211,  267 


307 


3o8 


Index 


Baptist  Missionary  Society 
(British),  181 

Barotsiland,  187,  228;  people, 
186,  (map)  184 

Bashilange,  280,   (map)   189 

Basutoland,  148;  work,  186, 
(map)  184 

Batlokwa  people,  115 

Beaconsfield,  222 

Beads,  48 

Beehuanaland,  148,  220,  221, 
230,   231,   257-261 

Bechiuanas,  44,  185,  217-221, 
261,  (map)  184 

Beirut  College,  278 

Belgium,   121,  141,   238 

Bennett,    J.    Gordon,    226 

Bentley,  W.  Holman,  67,  241 

Benue  River,  42 

Betrothal   of   little   girls,    54 

Bible,  124.  127,  197;  transla- 
tion, 118,  172,  220,  221,  263; 
circulation,  266,  270;  read- 
ers, 156 

Blaikie,  William  G.,  222 

Blantyre  district,  124;  Mis- 
sion, 199,  (map)  198 

Blue  Nile,  30 

Blythswood  Mission,  186, 
(map)   184 

Boers,  183,  229,  231,  232 

Bornu,  275,  (map)  275 

Bovuma  Island,  147 

Boyhood,  53 

Brick-making,  48;  brick- 
mould,  160 

British  Central  Africa,  124, 
160,  161;  government,  130, 
155 

British  Missions:  Ldving- 
stonia  Mission,  114,  130, 
155,  199,  269;  Baptist  Mis- 
sionary Society,  181;  So- 
ciety for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel,  London, 
Scottish  and  Wesleyan  So- 
cieties,   182;    Lovedale    In- 


dustrial Mission,  185; 
Blythswood  Mission,  186; 
Nonconformist  societies, 
189;  Church  Missionary  So- 
ciety, 189,  192,  213,  267; 
North  Africa  Mission,  192; 
London  Missionary  Society, 
199,  229;  Blantyre  Mission, 
199;  Universities'  Mission, 
199,  243,  (map)  198 
British  Nigeria,  142-144,  147 
Bruce,   James,   in  Abyssinia, 

7,  8 
Brussels   Conference,  143 
Burial,    67;    burial   alive,    92, 

108,  111;  hut  burial,  67 
"Bush  Schools,"  54,  55 
Bushmen,     44,     45.     79,     184, 

(map)   184 
Buxton,  Sir  T.  Fowell,  232 

Calabar,    190;    Old    Calabar, 

148,  190,  241,   (map)  189 
Cannibalism,   51,   93,   94,  108. 

Ill,  143,  265,  271,  272,  (map) 

224 
Cape  Colony  19,  159,  182,  231 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  named,  5 
Cape    to    Cairo    railway,    25, 

231,   (map)   25 
Cape  Town,  210,  211,  251 
Carey,  William,  181 
Carpenters,  155,  160 
Central    Africa,    40,    44,    185, 

197,   273 
Chamberlain,      Joseph,      231, 

232 
Character,    transformed,    148 
Charms,  80-82,  179 
Chiefs,  native,  185 
Child  life,   52-54 
Children,  57,  58 
China,  12,  107,  158 
Chinese  in  Africa,  39,  131 
Chitambo,  238,   (map,  224 
Christ    among    Mohammedan 

prophets,  110 


Index 


309 


Christian  Africa,  46,  47; 
numbers,   46,  274 

Christian  conscience,  142, 
188 

Christian  Missions,  4,  28-32, 
70,  110,  112,  114,  123,  144- 
150;  British  policy,  124; 
fourfold  method,  151-161; 
early  church,  170-175;  me- 
diaeval church,  179,  180, 
207-210;  modern  church, 
180-200;  enlisted  universi- 
ties, 208;  work  remaining 
to  be  done,  274-283 

Chrtstian  population,  41,  46, 
47 

Christianity:  Africa's  need 
of,  71;  transformation  by, 
107;  compromised  by  liquor 
traffic,  127;  leavening 
force,  141,  145,  148;  need  of 
evangelistic  power,  156; 
early  growth,  169-175;  able 
to  win  the  Dark  Continent, 
282 

Christians,  early,  169-178; 
native,  gifts  of,  186 

Chuma,  69 

Church  bells,  124 

Church   of   England,   182,    267 

Church  Missionary  Society, 
189,  234,  (maps)  193,  198 

Civilization,  evil  phases  of, 
70,  71,  120;  checked,  141, 
142 

Climate,  18,  19,  119,  146 

Coal,  22 

Coast  lands,  12,  120,  143 

Cocoanut  palm  culture,  160 

Coillard,  Frangois,  186,  228 

Colenso,  Bishop,  158,  159 

Colleges,  158 

Comber,  Thomas  J.,  239-241, 
(map)  189 

Commerce,  27,  120,  141,  144, 
145,  223 

Congo    basin,    18,    21,    24,    44, 


121,  147,  148,  191,  243,  270- 
273;  language,  47;  Mission, 
241;  River,  5,  7,  9,  13-15, 
26,  134,  179,  191,  214,  257; 
State,  24;  oppression,  121, 
122;   tribes,  19 L 

Continental  Missions:  Paris 
Society,  115;  Rhenish  Mis- 
sionary Society,  132;  Mora- 
vian Missions,  182,  210; 
Lutheran  Missionaries,  182; 
Swedish  Missionary  So- 
ciety, 197 

Converts,  native,  256,  257, 
273 

Converts  of  Islam,  Moham- 
medan costume,  48 

Cooks,   160 

Coptic  Church,  47,  173,  177, 
178,   (map)   193 

Coptic  population  of  Egypt, 
41 

Copts,   193-195 

Costume,  the  Mohammedan, 
48 

Cotton  cloth,  48 

Cowries,  48 

Cox,  Melville  B.,  236-238,  242, 
(map)  189 

Cross,  Dr.  D.  K.,  146 

Crowther,  Bishop  Samuel  A., 
127,  128,  253,   (map)   189 

Cruikshank,    94 

Crusaders,    the,   188,   207,   208 

Currency,  48,  145,  146 

Da  Gama,  Vasco,  5 

Darfur,   275 

"Dark    Continent,"    meaning 

of,  1 
Dead,  messages  to,  92,  93 
"Deadland,"  77,  91 
Death  rate,  51 
Deaths    of    natives,    66;     by 

violence,  95 
Diamonds,  21,  22;   mines,  39; 

value  of  product,  27 


3IO 


Index 


Diaz,  Bartholomew,  5 
Diseases,  African,  146 
Drakenberg   Mts.,    13 
Dreams,  native  view  of,  78 
Dress,   native,   64 
Drummond,   Henry,   200,   228, 

254,   255 
Drunkenness,  108 
Dutch  in  South  Africa,   6,  7, 

183,   210-212,   251 

East  Africa,  13,  39,  45,  47, 
120,  123,  133,  145,  197;  Mis- 
sions, 197-200 
East  Central  Africa,  13,  198 
Education,  native,  49,  50,  158 
Educational    Missions,      156- 

159 
Egypt,  1-24,  41,  168-173 
Egyptian       Christians,      176; 

Missions,   192-197 
Eleazer,     native     evangelist, 

187 
Elmslie,   W.    A.,   98,   124,   269 
England,    6,    7,    129,    220,    221, 

228-233,   253,   258 
Ethiopia,  3,  168-173 
"Ethiopian    Movement,"    131 
Europe,  117,  121,  126,  208 
Evangelistic   Missions,  152-154 
Evangelists,    native,   156,    266 
Exploration     and     explorers, 
4-10,     28-32,    179,     214,     223- 
228 

Family,  in  Africa,  57-61 

Farming,   49,    66 

Fashoda,   196 

Felashas,  47 

Fetish,   180;    doctor,   81 

Fetichism,   77-101 

Fever,  African,  146 

Food,  63,  64,  192,  215 

Forests,  18 

Frazer,  Melville,  191. 

Free  Town,  Sierra  Leone,  253 

Freedom  of  slaves,  144-146 


French     in     Africa,     6,     24; 

Madagascar,  133,  264 
Frere,  Sir  Bartle,  230 
Fulahs,  42,  43,  253,  (map)  275 
Funerals,  66,  67 
Future   life,   100,  101 

Gabun,  190,  237,  241,  (map)  189 
Gallaland,   197 
Gambia   River,   16 
Gando,  275,   (map)  295 
Garenganze  country,  191 
Geddy,  King,   281,    (map)   189 
German     East     Africa,     145; 
Kamerun,    157;     Southwest 
Africa,  122,  132 
Girlhood,   52,  53,  54 
Gladstone,   222 

God,   power  of  true   idea,   90 
Gods,    87-90;     Pagan    concep- 
tion of,  83-87,  100 
Gold  Coast,  6,  22,  190,   (map) 

21 
Gold,  production  of,  27,  39 
Goldie,   Sir  George,   142 
Good,    Adolphus    C,    236-238, 

(map)  189 
Gordon  College,  124 
Grain  Coast,  6,   (map)  21 
Great    Britain,    141;     expan- 
sion,   185;    policy,    124,   125, 
196,  229-231 
Grenfell,   30,  241 
Guinea  Coasts,  4-21,  40,  41 

Hannington,  Bishop,  243 
Hartzell,    Bishop    J.     C,    38, 

118,  281 
Kansas,  42,  43,  47,  191,  279 
"Head-money,"  57 
Heathenism  defined,  107 
Hepburn,  J.  D.,  259 
"Hinterland,"  24 
Holzapfel,    Mr.   132 
Hottentots,    44,    182-185,    211, 

(map)  184 


Index 


311 


Human   sacrifice,   143,   265 
Huts,     native,     60,     62;     hut 
burial,  67,  68 

India,  107;  natives  in  Africa, 
39,  131 

Industrial  Missions,  154,  155, 
158 

Industries,  48,  49,  141,  185 

Immoral  life,  native,  100, 
108-112;   foreign,  120,  125 

Infant  mortality,  51 

Infanticide,  51,  52 

Inhambane  district,  133 

Ilala,  228 

Islam.  See  "Mohammedan- 
ism" 

Ivory,  23;  Coast,  6,  190, 
(map)   21 

Jack,  J.  W.,  269 
Jackson,  J.  J.,  149 
Jesuits,  30,  132,  182,  213 
Jews,   47,   171,   197 
Johnston,  Sir  H.  H.,  161 
Jones,  David,  262,   (map)   184 
Journeys  of  Livingstone,  223, 
(m^p)  224 

Kaffirs,   131,   184 

Kalahari   Desert,   17,   44 

Kalley,  Dr.   R.   R.,  187 

Kamerun,  146,  157,  190; 
Mountains,  13 ;  Mohamme- 
dans in,  45 

Kanem,  275 

Kassai  River,  238;  Valley, 
272,   279;    Mission,   114,    191 

Kathokan,  116 

Kenia  Mt.,  13 

Khama,  King,  185,  257-261, 
(map)   184 

Khartum,  25,  124,  196 

Kilima-Njaro  Mt.,  13,  214 

Kolobeng,  226 

Koran,  111,   124 

Kordofan,  275 

Krapf,  John,  and  Rosina,  30, 


132,    192,   198,   199,  213,   217, 
(map)   198 
Kuruman,    219 

Labor  in  Africa,  39,  130,  131 

Lagos,  190 

Lakes,  13,  14 

Languages,  47,  118,  119,  150 

Lapsley,  Samuel  N.,  238,  239, 

272,   (map)   189 
Laws,  Dr.,  269 
Leopold,  King,  121,  250 
Liberia,  24,  188-190,  281 
Life  of  natives  precarious,  51 
Limpopo  River,  17 
Lindley,    241 
Linyanti,  9,  223 
Liquor    traffic,    125-129;     142, 

143,   190,    259-261 
Literature,      Christian,      118, 

150,    156,    195 
Liverpool  School  of  Tropical 

Medicine,   146 
Livingstone,   David,   8,   9,   29, 

32,    142,    185,    199,    200,    222- 

228,  (maps)  184,  224 
Livingstone,  Mrs.,  222,  225 
Livingstonia      Mission,      114, 

124,    130,    199,    269;    Indus- 
trial, 130,  155 
London    Missionary    Society, 

182,   229,   233 
Lord's  Supper,  220,  254 
Lovedale   Industrial   Mission, 

155,  185,   (map)  184 
Luebo,   238,   272,  280,    (maps) 

189,  224 
Lugard,  Captain,  111 
Lull,    Raymond,   208-210,   244, 

(map)  193 
Lunda    plateau,    279 
Lutheran   missions   and  mis- 
sionaries, 132,  182 

MacDonald,  Dr.  Duff,  93 
Mackay,   Alexander,  132,   156, 

198,  233-235,  265 
Mackenzie,  Bishop,  243 


312 


Index 


Mackenzie,  John,  30,  31,  185, 
229-233,   258 

Madagascar,  125,  145;  French 
oppression,    133,    134 

Madeira  Islands,  133,  187 

Makololo  country,  223;  peo- 
ple, 185,   (map)  184 

Malagasy,  262 

MaNhalla,  116 

Man's  domain  in  Africa,  60-62 

Maps,  early,  2;   modern,  10 

Marriage,  54-56,  149 

Martyrs,  171,  175,  210,  234, 
263,   267 

Massaquai,   Prince,   129 

McAllister,  Agnes,  126 

McKinley,   President,   250 

Medical  Missions,  151,  152 

Mediterranean  Coast,  39,  47, 
171 

Menelik,  King,  6 

Mills,  Samuel  J.,  181 

Minerals,  21,  22 

Mines,  59;  mission  work  at, 
153 

Missionaries,  number  giving 
life,  29;  explorers,  4,  30, 
31;    qualifications,    243,    244 

Missionary  Society  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  189 

Missions:  Protestant,  29,  32, 
114,  115,  130,  132-134,  144; 
African  beginnings,  181- 
183;  obstacles,  183;  South 
African  field,  183-187,  210- 
213,  217-233,  251-253,  257- 
261;  West  African  field, 
187-192,  235-241,  255-257, 
Madeira  Islands,  187;  Pyg- 
mies, 191,  192;  North  Afri- 
can and  Egyptian  field, 
192-197;  East  African  field, 
197-200,  213-217,  254,  255, 
265-270;  other  notable 
names,  241;  woman's  work, 
242;    present    service,    243, 


244;  Madagascar,  261-264; 
Congo  basin,  270-273;  Ro- 
man Catholic,  30,  179-181; 
African  native  mission  ser- 
vice, 185-187,  194,  195,  251- 
274 

Mockler-Ferryman,  Col.  A. 
F.,  147 

Moffat,  Robert,  and  Mary, 
217-222,  251,  252,  (map)  184 

Mohammed,  4,  40,  110 

Mohammedanism,  entrance 
into  Africa,  40;  missions, 
41;  field,  42-45;  members, 
45,  46;  origin,  110;  proph- 
ets, 110;  intemperance,  111; 
influence  on  its  converts, 
110,  111,  114;  clothes.  111, 
112;  now  native  to  Africa, 
112;  numbers,  112;  aggres- 
siveness, 113;  Cairo  "uni- 
versity," 113;  British  policy 
toward,  124,  125;  how  ad- 
vanced, 127;  factors  in  con- 
version of,  144,  193-196;  its 
early  opportunity,  176;  a 
barrier,  178,  192-196,  234; 
efforts  for,  207-210;  aiming 
at  continent,  277;  must  be 
evangelized,  278 

Molique,  King,  127,  (map) 
189 

Mombasa,  26,  213 

Mombasa-Uganda  railway,  26, 
45 

Money,  48,  49 

Moolu,  254,  225 

Morley,  John,  232 

Morocco,   19,  24 

Mosquitoes  and  malaria,  146, 
147 

Mountains,  12,  13,  (relief 
map,   following  page   12) 

Namaqualand,  251 
Natal,  5,  149 
Ndombe,   King,  250 


Index 


313 


Ndombe,  town,  280,  (map) 
224 

Negro,  39,  40,  168;  promi- 
nence in  Sudan,  41;  brain 
capacity,  156-158;  early- 
missionary  influence,  189; 
stability,  176,   (map)  275 

Ngoniland,  148;  people,  155, 
269 

Niger  River,  9,  14,  15,  40,  42, 
191,   253,   274 

Nigeria,   British,  142,  144 

Nile  River,  1-15,  26,  39,  64, 
196,  214;  Upper,  1,  41,  170; 
Valley,  167 

Noble,  F.  P.,  159 

North  Africa,  40,  47,  123, 
169-176;  Mission  (British), 
192;  Missions,  192-197 

North  America,  39,  276 

Nubia,   172 

Nupe  country,  127,  128 

Nyasa  Lake,  13-16,  269;  coun- 
try, 148 

Officials,       foreign,      119-121, 

125,  130,  146,  148,  159,  196 
Ogowe   River,   191 
Old  Calabar,  148,  190,  241 
O'Neill,  Thomas,  243 
Ophir,   2,    22 
Omnge  culture,  160 
Orange  River,   17 
Ostrich  culture,  20 

Pagan  Africa,  41,  43;  popu- 
lation, 45,  109,  110;  African, 
49-70,   217 

Paganism  defined,  107;  Afri- 
can, 77-101;  problem,  109, 
110 

"Palaver,"  50,   61 

Papal  bull,  134 

Paris  Missionary  Society,  115 

Parker,    Bishop,   243 

Partition  of  Africa,  23,  24 

Pastors,  native,  124 


Paul  the  Apostle  of  Banza 
Manteke,  255,   (map)   189 

"Pentecost  on  the  Congo," 
241,  271 

Persecution,  196 

Philippine  Islands,  133 

Phoenicians,  2 

Plateaus,  12-14 

Polygamy,  56,  57,  108,  114- 
116,  149,   265 

Population,  Africa,  39;  na- 
tive, 28,  39;  white,  39; 
Negro  or  Sudan,  41;  Pagan, 
45,  109,  110;  Christian,  46; 
Jews,  47;  natives  of  India, 
39;   Chinese,  39 

Portugal,  4,  5,  141 

Portuguese,  6,  7,  122,  123, 
187;  missions,  30,  77,  179, 
180 

"Possession,"  by  a  divinity, 
100 

Powers,  foreign,  23,  24,  48, 
121-125,   129,  142,  143 

Prayers,   192,   219,  255,  257 

Preachers,  native,  118,  156 

Presbyterian  Church  Mis- 
sion, 237 

Priests  and  priestesses,  na- 
tive, 100 

Principe  Island,  123 

Printers,  native,  155,  160,  161 

Problems,  African,  107-134; 
solution,  141-161 

Products  of  Africa,  19-23, 
(map)  21 

Prohibition  of  liquor  traffic, 
143.   259-261 

Property  in  Africa,  68,  145 

Protectorates,  British,  142, 
233 

Protestants,   46;    French,   134 

Ptolemaic  system  taught,  113 

Pygmies,  44,  45,  191,  192 

Quanza  River,  191 
Quilimane,  224 


314 


Index 


Race  problems,  130-132 
Radama,  King,  262 
Railroads,      16,      25-27,  '    120, 

(map)   25 
Ranavalona,  Queen,  262 
Rebmann,  30,  199,  214 
Red  Sea,  17,  26,  197 
Reincarnation,  100,  101 
Religions,   native,  99-101,  127 
Rhenish   Missionary    Society, 

132 
Rhodes,  Cecil,  231 
Rhodesia,  52 

Richards,  Henry,  241,   271 
Rickard,  Mr.,  239 
Rivers,     13-17,     (relief    map, 

following  page  12) 
Roads,  145 
Robert  College,  278 
Robinson,   Canon,  111 
Roman    Catholics    in    Africa, 

46;  missions,  180,  181 
Roman    Catholic    opposition, 

132,    133;    persecution,    187, 

264 
Royal    Geographical    Society, 

8,  224 
Rubber,  122 
Ruwenzori  Mt.,  13 

Sacrifices,  79,  80;  human,  51, 

79,  90-94,  108,  111,  143 
Sahara   Desert,    1,   17,    20,    41 
Saint  Francis  of  Assisi,  208 
Saint  Paul  de  Loanda,  9 
Sanitary  interests,  146 
Sankuru-Kassai       peninsula, 

280 
San  Thome  Island,  123 
Saracens,   207 

Savannahs  of  Africa,  17,  18 
Schmidt,  George,  182,  210 
Schools,     mission,     122,     156, 

158,  194,  211,  264,  273 
Sebituane,   Chief,  185,    (map) 

184 
Self-support,  124,  185,  241 


Senegal  River,  7,  16,  17 

Shaftesbury,  Lord,  232 

Shire  River,  15,  16 

Shoshong,  230,  (map)  184 

Shupanga,  225,   (map)  224 

Sierra  Leone,   182,   188-190 

Sims,  241 

Slatin   Pasha,   111 

Slave     Coast,      6,      100,      190, 

(map)   21 
Slave    trade,    foreign,   32,    41, 
42,    116,    123,    142,    187,    189, 
190.   223 
Slavery,    111,    179,    188,    188; 
domestic,    51,    58,    108,    111, 
114,    116-118,    122,    123,    144- 
146,  265 
Sleeping  sickness,  147 
Smart,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  W.  G., 

187 
"Smelling-out,"  96-98 
Smith,  Lieut.  Shergold,  243 
Society   for   the    Propagation 

of  the  Gospel,  182 
Sokotra  Island,  172 
Somaliland,   45 
South    Africa,    17,    19-22,    27, 
39,     59,    115,    133,    145,    155, 
182,  183,  274;  Missions,  183- 
187 
South  Central  Africa,  9 
Southeast  Africa,  47 
Southwest  Africa,  44 
Spheres  of  influence,  23,  24 
Splrlt-world    of    African,    50, 

78,  82,  107 
Stanley,  Henry  M.,  1,  9,  10, 
222,  226,  227,  233,  240,  265 
Statistics  of  Africa:  Size,  11; 
commerce,  27;  population, 
39-47;  importations  of  liq- 
uor, 126;  Roman  Catholic 
native  communicants,  180; 
Protestant  communicants 
In  Central  Africa,  273;  work 
in  Egypt,  193-195;  in  Mada- 
gascar, 264;  in  Uganda,  267, 


Index 


315 


268;  total  sumsiaries,  Sta- 
tistical Tables,  300 

Stead,  W.  T.,  31 

Steere,  Bishop,  241 

Stewart,  James,  39,  186 

Stock,   Eugene,   216 

Student  Volunteer  Band,  194 

Sudan,  19,  20,  40,  41,  45,  47, 
113,  123,  191  274,  276,  279; 
Egyptian,  124,  196,  (map) 
275 

Supan,  Dr.  A.,  39 

Susi,  69 

Swahili    language,    47 

Swedish  Missionary  Society, 
197 

Tanganyika  Lake,  13,  14,  185, 

227 
Tattooing,  64 

Taylor,    Bishop   William,    241 
Tchad  Lake,  14,  40 
Teachers,  native,  194,  266 
Telegraphers,  155,  160,  161 
Temperature,  19 
Tetanus,  51 
Tom-tom,   66 
Trade,  47-49,  146 
Traders,  foreign,  119,  125 
Tribal  life,   68 
Tsetse  fly,  147 
Tunis,  209 
Twin  superstition,  52 

Ubangi  River,   30,    (map)   189 
Uganda,    26,   44,    45,    120,   145, 
147,    148,    156,    198.    199,   216, 
235,  243,  265-268,    (map)   224 
Ujiji,  226,   (map)  224 
United  States,  109,  158,  275 
Universities'   Mission,    199 
Upper  Nile,  41 

Veldts,   17 

Verner,    S.    P.,    114,    126,    191, 
^^  250,  272,  273,  279,  280 
"Vianga-Vianga,"  240 


Vices,  108,  111,  190 
Victoria  Falls,  16 
Victoria  Nyanza  Lake,  13,  14 
Vulgate  translation,  172 

Wadai,  275 

Waddell,  241 

War,  South  African,  232 

Wars,   native,   143 

Watson,     Dr.     Andrew,     195, 

196 
Wesleyan  work,  182 
West    Africa,    133,    181,    179; 

Missions,    187-192 
West  Coast,  4,  6,  7,  9,  13,  26, 

46,  223,  243,   (map)   189 
White,   A.   S.,   126,  127 
White    man's    responsibility, 

28;  peril  from,  119,  120 
White    population  of   Africa. 

39 
Williams   College,   181 
Wilson,  John  Leighton,  241 
Witboi,  Henry,   132 
Witch  doctor,  palaver,  trials, 

96-99 
Witchcraft,  51,  95-99,  111,  143, 

265 
Wives     in     polygamy,      115; 

number,  56 
Woman's  domain,  65,  66;  du- 
ties, 61,  62 
Women   converts,    steadfast- 
ness, 115 
Women,  mission  workers,  187. 

213,   214,    217-221,   225,    242 
World's  Parliament  of  Relig- 
ions, 129 

"Yer,"  192 

Yoruba  country,  190;   people, 
253,    (map)    189 

Zambezi,    9,    13,    15,    16,    191, 

223,  225,  274 
Zanzibar,  45 
Zomba,  161 
Zulus,    44,    47,    124,    131,    159, 

185,  242,    (map)   184 


The  Forward  Mission  Study  Courses 


•«  Anywhere,  provided  it  be  forward." — David  Livingstone. 


Prepared  under  the  auspices  of  the 
YOUNG  PEOPLES  MISSIONARY  MOVEMENT 

Editorial  Committee: — S.  Earl  Taylor,  Harry  Wade 
Hicks,  John  Willis  Baer,  John  W.  Wood,  A.  W.  Halsey,  Don 
O.  Shelton. 

The  Forward  Mission  Study  Courses  are  an  outgrowth  of  a 
conference  of  leaders  in  Young  People's  Mission  Work,  held  in 
New  York  City,  December,  1901.  To  meet  the  need  that  was 
manifested  at  that  conference,  for  Mission  Study  Text-Books 
suitable  for  Young  People,  two  of  the  delegates,  Professor  Amos 
R.  Wells,  of  the  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  and  Mr. 
S.  Earl  Taylor,  Chairman  of  the  General  Missionary  Committee 
of  the  Epworth  League,  projected  the  Forward  Mission  Study 
Courses.  These  courses  have  been  officially  adopted  by  the 
Young  People's  Missionary  Movement  and  are  now  under  the 
immediate  direction  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Move- 
ment, which  consists  of  the  young  people's  secretaries  or  other 
official  representatives  of  fifteen  of  the  leading  Missionary 
Boards  of  America. 

The  aim  is  to  publish  a  series  of  text-books  covering  the 
various  home  and  foreign  mission  fields  and  written  by  leading 
authorities  with  special  reference  to  the  needs  of  young  people. 
The  entire  series  vi^hen  completed  will  comprise  perhaps  as 
many  as  twenty  text-books.  A  general  account  will  be  given 
of  some  of  the  smaller  countries,  such  as  Japan,  Korea  and 
Turkey ;  but,  for  the  larger  fields,  as  China,  Africa,  and  India, 
the  general  account  will  be  supplemented  by  a  series  of 
biographies  of  the  principal  missionaries  connected  with  the 
country.  The  various  home  mission  fields  will  also  be  treated 
both  biographically  and  historically. 

The  following  text-books  have  been  published : — 

1.  The  Price  of  Africa.     (Biographical.)     By  S.  Earl  Taylor. 

2.  Into  All  tlie  World.  A  general  survey  of  missions.  By 
Amos  R.  Wells. 


3.  Princely  Men  in  the  Heavenly  Kingdom.  (Biographical.) 
By  Harlan  P.  Beach,  M.  A.,  F.  R.  G.  S. 

4.  Child  Life  in  Mission  Lands.  A  course  of  study  for  Junior 
Societies.     By  Ralph  E.  Diffendorfer. 

5.  Sunrise  in  the  Sunrise  Kingdom.  A  Study  of  Japan.  By 
Rev.  John  H.  De  Forest,  D.  D. 

6.  Heroes  of  the  Cross  in  America.  Home  missons.  (Bio- 
graphical.)    By  Don  O.  Shelton. 

7.  Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent.    A  Study  of  Africa.   By 

Wilson  S.  Naylor. 

Among  the  writers  that  have  been  secured  for  other  text- 
books of  the  series,  are  Bishop  J.  M.  Thoburn,  D.D.,  of  India  ; 
Harry  Wade  Hicks  ;  S.  Earl  Taylor ;  Robert  E.  Speer  ;  Wil- 
liam Carey,  of  India;  Rev.  E.  E.  Strong,  D.D,  ;  Rev.  Edward 
Judson,  D.D.  ;  and  Rev.  J.  M.  Buckley,  D.D. 

These  books  are  published  by  mutual  arrangement  among 
the  denominational  publishing  houses,  to  whom  all  orders 
should  be  addressed.  They  are  bound  uniformly,  and  are  sold 
for  50  cents,  in  cloth,  and  35  cents,  in  paper. 


Study  classes  desiring  more  advanced  text-books  are  referred 
to  the  admirable  series  published  by  the  interdenominational 
committee  of  the  Woman's  Boards.  The  volumes  already  pub- 
lished are : — 

Via  Christi.  A  Study  of  Missions  before  Carey.  By  Louise 
Manning  Hodgkins. 

Lux  Christi.  A  Study  of  Missions  in  India.  By  Caroline 
Atwater  Mason. 

Rex  Christus.  A  Study  of  Missions  in  China.  Z  By  Rev. 
Arthur  H.  Smith,  D.  D. 

Dux  Christus.  A  Study  of  Missions  in  Japan.  By  Rev.  W. 
E.  Griffis,  D.  D. 

Christus  Liberator.  A  Study  of  Missions  in  Africa.  By 
Ellen  C.  Parsons,  M.A. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Libraries 


1012  01234  8399 


